This past week I was invited to show the first, albeit interim, Collateral Damage exhibition at the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention Conference in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. Alderney Landing Cultural Conference Centre is situated at a ferry terminal that connects Halifax with Dartmouth and is also home to retail outlets and a community market as well as The Craig Gallery. The Collateral Damage exhibition was installed near the Craig Gallery on a public access wall. It was very important for me to have the exhibition open to public that were passing by.
The exhibition proved to be a powerful invitation into a dialogue on suicide.
If you have viewed the exhibition, please leave a comment to let me know what you thought about it.
The exhibition will remain at The Craig Gallery until November 15th.
Over the next two weeks, I will be adding one complete image with text each day to the blog. This will be the virtual exhibition. Be sure to stop by everyday to see the images and read the narrative that was taken from the original email submissions.
A woman at the market
Helen Sweett views her photograph
The Collateral Damage Exhibition Guest Book
Scott I am so very proud of you and all of the wonderful work you have done for all of us.
You have given so many of us great strength to carry on and carry forward.
I think photographs speak volumes and need no words, rather like an art gallery where the painting tells the story.
Taking the stigma away will help families be able to grieve and celebrate the life of the person they lost and not have to worry about what the rest of the world is saying.
Thanks so much Scott
Pat
Wow, you continue to inspire me………..lets keep the dialogue going!!!!
Dear Scott,
We are all very proud of you and the great work you are doing. You are making such a difference for all those who share this painful journey. We are honoured to be a part of your project. You have given us the courage and strength to speak openly of Callie . We want others to know there are no boundaries and it is urgent that we speak out so others who are left behind can have the respect and support so needed.I speak from my heart when I say I’m not sure where I would be today if I hadn’t connected with you. Callie lives on in her 2 beautiful little girls and I continue to have hope that I will find the courage and strength to create a Legacy in honour of Callie and ultimately help others to have hope .
We go to your site several times each week and we were very excited to see the Exhibit in Halifax
I am so proud of you and all that you are doing for this project Scott, you are an amazing man with so much to share. I can’t believe how far you have come with this project, your determination and commitment to helping stop the stigma associated with the death of our loved ones is heartfelt by myself and my family. For me to be a part of this project has given me the courage to also do other things to help erase the stigma. The dialogue keeps coming out of my mouth to everyone I talk to. I look forward to being a part of this project until it is finished, how many years this takes for society to get the picture that our loved ones had no other choice but to end their pain. It’s not how they died but how they lived that we need to celebrate. Taking the stigma away even a little will help families be able to grieve their losses without feeling so isolated from others. And it will create an awareness that this is a serious issue in Canada and the world. Margaret Hajdinjak Steven’s Mom Thunder Bay Ontario