well, what were you wearing?
A Virtual Exhibit
This series turns items associated with pain, trauma, and violence into an educational exhibit to raise awareness of sexual violence and challenge society’s notion of victim-blaming.
Enter the ExhibitAbout the Exhibit
Sexual assault is any type of forced sexual contact or behavior that occurs without a person’s consent – yet so often survivors are blamed for their own assault. Well, What Were You Wearing? addresses our preconceptions by documenting the clothing worn by survivors during their assault.
In the U.S., a person is assaulted every 68 seconds, and not a single assault stems from what the victim is wearing. It occurs – simply and by definition – because one person assaults another.
I began this project in 2016 with a Facebook post seeking volunteers to let me photograph their clothing. I was surprised by how quickly people responded, and at times shocked by what I received. This series turns items associated with pain, trauma, and violence into an educational exhibit to raise awareness of sexual violence and challenge society’s notion of victim-blaming.
This project will continue on as long as there is a sexual assault epidemic and survivors brave enough to tell their story.
