Photomanipulation nominee

If These Walls Could Talk is an idea I came up with as therapy after my daughter's emotionally and physically abusive relationship and sexual assault. The phrase is cliché, but fitting because, while she suffered alone, nobody else had any idea what was going on, just like any abusive situation. The world sees one version, but the walls--or the truth--is another. The subject was my daughter and she wore a white lycra suit for the photos. I then attempted to digitally blend them into the walls with Photoshop to make it look as though the walls would tell the truth, a story through anonymous figures. In the beginning, she is completely in the walls, still victim to the abuse. In the latter, she comes out of the wall, achieving freedom and triumph. The titles/images are what I believe to be the different stages of a situation like this ("Battered", "Despaired", "Pleading", "Escaping" and "Winning") I'm hoping it will evoke some feelings and empathy for all who view them.

I'm a "self-taught, trial and error" sports and portrait photographer in a small town in Iowa. I did not go to school for photography. I was a stay at home mom in a blended family with 6 kids who took pictures as a hobby. My business started out taking sports team and action photos and has grown from there. I photograph seniors mostly. I have no awards, have never had an exhibition--I just felt compelled to enter this contest. I'm just a mom earning a very small living doing what I love to do.