“Looking at the dress, you can see how majestic and beautiful it was. Its brightness shows someone who was full of joy when this person came and started ripping it apart, taking something that I owned; my strength.

Standing at the abyss was very intimidating, I had a lot of fear in me. But once I got the dress on, as broken as it was, I got comfortable, regained confidence, and felt like it was my kingdom. I was owning it. Everything that was broken or taken from me, I was commanding back into my life.” - Yellow, rape survivor photographed

This image belongs to a larger project exploring how rape survivors are made to feel after the assault, through magical realism. Following journalistic interviews with each one, I collaborated with them to conceptualise a way to tell their story through the realm of the imagination. This process was deemed "therapeutic" by the London Art Therapy Network, and aims to shift power back to survivors. By expressing trauma through art, we are witnessed, and this provides a sense of justice when so many legal systems around the world fail us.

"The rape made me feel worthless, like there was no reason to be alive. Looking at the picture, I see a very fierce woman, a strong woman, someone that’s demanding respect. I feel like I’m worthy now. It’s like I’m owning it and saying, ‘Yes, this happened, and I’m still able to take control over it and become a survivor and move on’. "