FRANCAIS
ATTEMPTERS by Nadya Elpis (project is in progress)
Jenelle. American. 25 years old.
Attempted suicide at the age of 14, then 20.
- Not many people ask why I got my tattoo, but the reason is a third fold answer. First, it symbolizes my hometown. Second, it symbolizes my past. I have always been embarrassed of my scars. I think the society's ignorance towards the matter contributes to that feeling of shame. I have to learn to embrace me, all of me. Third, it symbolizes my future. I hold on to the fact that no matter how slight it may be I am able to love myself. I have to hold on to that love and remind myself that no matter how dark it may seem there is a faint light that grows with self acceptance and self love.
- I've chosen to be a part of this project to help to give this subject a face. The more it is discussed, the more it is apparent that everyone has suicidal thoughts - not just "crazy" people. It should not be as taboo as our society wants it to be. This is real and the more we keep ignoring it, the more people will suffer.
- Ever since I was a little girl, I have always dreamed of Paris. I never thought I would live long enough to make it happen. I chose to be photographed with the Eiffel Tower because for me it symbolizes hope and new beginnings. When I see the Eiffel tower, I am reminded that I can do anything that I want to do.
Attempters - people, of different age, sex, nationalities and social backgrounds, who have experienced an attempt of suicide and are ready to speak out.
The idea to start a project devoted to people who attempted suicide came to me after a good friend of my husband had committed suicide. Never before in my life I was so close to the issue of suicide. The influence, that this event had on many people who knew him, was tremendous. Therefore, I started my research on the phenomenon of suicide and suicidal behaviour, and discovered that there were some cases of suicide attempts among my friends or their families. Moreover, I began to realise that at least 90 % of the people I know (including myself) at some moment of their lives had suicidal thoughts. Thus, the problem of suicidal behaviour is not as distant to us as we might think it is. We simply refuse to see it.
The main goal of the project Attempters is not to talk about the attempts themselves, but:
-to investigate the relations between the attempter and the people around him/her,
-to reveal the inner state of the attempter after his or her suicidal experience,
-to study the conflict between the reality and the perceptions of both the attempter him-/herself and the general public,
-to talk about an uneasy situation that we the society put him/her into by our ignorance, misunderstanding, fear and disrespect that we express towards somebody, who once happened to step out of the circle of "normal people".
Do we ever ask ourselves why a manager of a big company is afraid to lose his job or as minimum lose some clients if somebody finds out that when he was 20 he tried to kill himself? We tend to put a "weirdo" label on those whose behaviour is different from what we expect. I would like to draw attention to this gap and mutual misunderstanding that exist between the attempter and the society.
Visual realisation
The visual realisation combines photojournalistic and artistic approaches. The project consists of series of portraits of attempters with their eyes shut, which adds a touch of symbolism to the entire image - the refusal to see, to face the reality, the escape in oneself, the gap, the misunderstanding. What you see on the background is a place or environment that has tight emotional links to the hero. Each participant chooses his/her own place to be photographed at. Thus, there are two characters in each picture - the attempter and his/her surrounding. They live different lives but they are strongly connected to each other.
Each photograph is accompanied with a piece of text - some information about the participant and a few lines written by the attempter him-/herself expressing their feelings, views, or anything they would like to share with the audience.
ATTEMPTERS ( IN PROGRESS )
Nadya Elpis - freelance photographer and artist.
Exhibits and art-projects:
December 2008 – Silver Camera photography exhibition, Moscow, Russia.
November 2007 – Picturehouse event and exhibition, London, the UK
June 2007 – Private View at London College of Communication, Univercity of Arts, the UK.
February 2007 – photo-competition and exhibition “Theatre Romance” organized by the “Beauty” magazine and French cosmetics company “RoC” with the support of the French Embassy in Moscow. First prize winner.
January 2007 - photo-competition “Way to Mastery” organized by the “Digital Photo” magazine in Moscow. First prize winner.
November-December 2006 – photo-contest and exhibition “Young Talents in Photography” organized by Swissotel and German Russian House in Moscow. Second prize winner.
Represented by:
WIN-Initiative (New York); Photoxpress, Profimages (Moscow).
Publications:
Golf Style (Russia), Beauty (Russia), Digital Photo, Photo&Video (Russia), Люблю Готовить (PH «Burda» - Russia), Фотомастерская, Все Звезды, Ровесник (Russia).
Academic Background:
October 2007-March 2008 – first intern, then photographer's assistant and laboratory technician at Studio Vermes, Paris, France.
2007 - University of Arts London. London College of Communication. School of Graphic Design. Course for postgraduates. Digital Lens-Based Image Making. Graduate Certificate with distinction.
2005 – 2006 Moscow State University. Faculty of Journalism. Course of professional retraining for postgraduates. Department of photojournalism.
2000 – 2005 Moscow State Linguistic University. Faculty of Humanities and Applied Science. Department of Stylistics of the English Language.
portfolio and other works
nelpis_gmail.com
"Coming from a photojournalistic background I often apply documentary photography features to my commercial and artistic work. The feeling of a moment and its unique nature is what I want my work to carry out. ‘People’ is a subject of photography that attracts me the most. I devote my time to explore… us. How we behave in different situations, what we think and feel, how we communicate with one another and perceive the world around us. This is my ‘human study’".
Nadya Elpis
photographer and artist
attempters_gmail.com
For all the additional information about the project and/or other work of Nadya Elpis, don't hesitate to contact the photographer using the e-mails provided. Thank you! :)
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Photography by Nadya Elpis
All rights reserved. Copyright 2009 by Nadya Elpis.
