Shocking. Confronting. Beautiful. These are the words that come to mind when one looks at the strong and confronting portraits from The SCAR Project – an exhibit by photographer David Jay.
Jay has captured semi-nude portraits of breast cancer sufferers, aged between 18-35, boldly baring their mastectomy scars in an effort to challenge the perceptions about breast cancer and raise awareness for its younger victims.
This year in Australia alone more than 800 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer and The SCAR project attempts to pay homage to these brave women through a series of raw images.
After nearly two decades behind the lens as a professional photographer, Jay explains what motivated him to begin this very personal project.
What inspired you to shoot The SCAR Project?
I never intended to shoot The SCAR Project. It evolved very organically after a dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 29. Within two weeks she’d had a mastectomy. A beautiful, strong, young woman, I had taken Paulina’s picture a hundred times since she was 17. I saw her soon after her surgery and knew I would have to shoot her again. I took her picture because, perhaps as a photographer, taking pictures is my way of confronting, understanding and accepting the things I see.
During the seven years that I was shooting The SCAR Project the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were raging. I knew then that I needed to address an often unseen consequence of all of our actions. I began photographing “The Unknown Soldier” series.
The SCAR Project. PHOTO: David Jay.
Was the process of shooting these women difficult?
I struggled shooting The SCAR Project. I was torn. I wanted the pictures to be raw, honest, sincere. Yet I knew why the subjects had come — they wanted something beautiful. They had already suffered greatly and although I desperately wanted to serve them, I knew in my heart that compromising the visual integrity of The SCAR Project for the sake of easily digested beauty would serve no one.
Related: See more images from The SCAR Project here
There is an inherent beauty in humanity. A beauty that transcends the glossy, mass-produced images force-fed by popular media. We recognise it instantly, the human condition. Hope, despair, love, loss, courage, fear. Such fragile beauty. I moved closer.
What is the purpose of The SCAR Project and The Unknown Soldier?
I want to be clear, The SCAR Project is not about breast cancer and The Unknown Soldier is not about war. They are about many things. The images can be uncomfortable for the viewer. It forces us to confront our fears and inhibitions about life, death, sexuality, sickness, relationships, etc. I once read it described as “unflinching.” Reality is not always pretty. This is reality. Let’s address it. Both The SCAR Project and The Unknown Soldier present an opportunity to open a dialogue about issues we are not necessarily comfortable with . . . and in the case of The Unknown Soldier, responsible for.
The SCAR Project. PHOTO: David Jay.
What kind of reactions have you received regarding the projects?
When I first started shooting The SCAR Project I honestly didn’t know if anyone would want to look at the pictures. Seven years later and I now think I know. The response has been wonderfully positive and humbling. I have received thousands of emails from people around the world… people of every age, culture, religion and social standing. The emails are often deeply moving, relaying to me the personal struggles they have faced in their own lives… and often, how seeing the images had catalysed a sense of self-acceptance, dignity, self-worth and love within them. Upon reading the first of those emails I remember thinking, “If I died tomorrow, I would be the happiest man in the world”.
The SCAR Project. PHOTO: David Jay.
What are you hoping to tell the viewer in The Unknown Soldier?
Like The SCAR Project, the images of The Unknown Soldier are not so much about the subjects themselves as they are about the viewer, as in some distant way we are all responsible. I hope the images transcend the narrow and simplistic confines of “war” and encourage us to examine the way we engage each other – both friend and stranger – at its most basic, day to day level, as it is these subtle, seemingly innocuous interactions that will ultimately lead us either to peace… or to the continuum and carnage of war.
Related: See more images from The SCAR Project here
The SCAR Project. PHOTO: David Jay.
Can you tell us about some of the subjects you worked with?
Perhaps during the shoot of Sara, the red haired woman with tears running down her face. The shoot was going well. The pictures looked good, honest. There was laughter. I was pleased with the images we had captured. I loaded the pictures into the computer and called Sara over to look at them. She came and stood behind me in silence. And then tears. Mine too. I grabbed the camera again… “Now, we take pictures,” I said.
Related: See more images from The SCAR Project here
There is something about photography that’s very real. We’re so accustomed to seeing ourselves in a mirror, but that reflection is actually reversed. A photograph isn’t. That’s why it’s often shocking to see ourselves in a photograph — it’s not what we see in the mirror every day. It’s what everyone else sees. In that moment, Sara came face to face with herself. She’d had a double mastectomy in her mid-20s. It was both shocking and confronting for her.
Carole Renouf, CEO of National Breast Cancer Foundation said The SCAR Project is a “profound artistic statement that shatters the commonly-held belief that young women don’t get breast cancer.”
“Each year, around 800 young Australian women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Unfortunately the types of breast cancer affecting young women are often more aggressive and have a much poorer prognosis, as well as a much earlier likelihood of recurrence compared to older women,” said Ms Renouf.
“The SCAR Project beautifully depicts the reality of breast cancer in young women. The National Breast Cancer Foundation is very proud to be involved in such a moving and poignant exhibition. We’re grateful to David and the subjects of his portraits for the opportunity to share the raw reality of breast cancer with Australians.”
You can see The SCAR Project at Seven at David Jones, Level 7, Elizabeth Street Store, Sydney 11 from September to 21 September, 2014. For more information visit The SCAR Project website.
