“There is an epidemic. One that claims a million victims a year, leaving twenty
million fractured lives in its wake.
It is largely unspoken of, shrouded in stigma.
Those left behind are the Suicide Survivors. These are their stories. Their stories
are mine.
On June 12, 2001, my father scrawled a goodbye note on a scrap of paper, strung a
rope to a rafter, stepped off a stool and ended his life.
For six years I never spoke of it, determined to bury my pain by living every day
with a full agenda. It was a strategy that almost worked, pulling me forward in
awkward strides. This was his choice. I refused to allow it to change me.
But of course it did. How could it not? “
Kerry Payne is an Australian photographer based in New York City. Her current project explores the complicated grief facing those left behind when somebody they love dies by suicide. She is drawn to the healing power of photography – a tool for acknowledging emotions as guides to the path of happiness.
There will also be an additional exhibition on a billboard on 114 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010.
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