honorable mention
Hope Davis united kingdom
Photo © Hope Davis
title
Bodybag
After much self reflection, I knew that I had to develop the courage to carry on somehow and that's how 'Bodybag' was born. There can only be 2 outcomes of surgery, you either die or you survive. That's when I realised that regardless of which path we all choose to take in life, we will all end up in a body bag one day! It's a sobering and humbling thought isn't it? I felt incredibly vulnerable at that point, ready to just let go, but what if there was Hope for me to live? Hope indeed was there, the answers lay within me all along.
Rebirth!
I decided to take the body bag that symbolises death and create a 'bodybag' to carry myself through a new journey in life. A fresh start, naked as the day I was born, my legs can no longer carry me, I'm so tired. My guide picks me up and takes the weight off my feet.
Where do I go from here? I'm not really sure, but I shall begin my new path, Reborn.
back to gallery
entry description
Bodybag is an intimate self portrait representation of facing my mortality. It explores the themes of pain, grief, death, and rebirth. Certain death awaited me if I didn't take immediate action. I had spent years battling a giant 30cm tumour and the pain was becoming unbearable. Live or die, I wasn't sure if I had the strength to keep going anymore as both my heart and soul were weary. I was in such a huge amount of physical pain that I was ready and willing to give up. I didn't necessarily want to die but I didn't want to live either, I had come to the fork in the road!After much self reflection, I knew that I had to develop the courage to carry on somehow and that's how 'Bodybag' was born. There can only be 2 outcomes of surgery, you either die or you survive. That's when I realised that regardless of which path we all choose to take in life, we will all end up in a body bag one day! It's a sobering and humbling thought isn't it? I felt incredibly vulnerable at that point, ready to just let go, but what if there was Hope for me to live? Hope indeed was there, the answers lay within me all along.
Rebirth!
I decided to take the body bag that symbolises death and create a 'bodybag' to carry myself through a new journey in life. A fresh start, naked as the day I was born, my legs can no longer carry me, I'm so tired. My guide picks me up and takes the weight off my feet.
Where do I go from here? I'm not really sure, but I shall begin my new path, Reborn.
about the photographer
Hope is a multidisciplinary artist with a background in the performing arts. Now restricted by disability and chronic pain, self-portraiture and surrealism give her new avenues of expression. Her art spans the entire gamut of the human condition, often evolving in style but consistent in voice. From whimsical surrealism to the vulnerable glimpses of spoonie life.back to gallery
