Borders of Love: Trauma as Motivation to Create Art. Photography as Therapy
Abstract
This work, entitled Borders of Love: Trauma as Motivation to Create Art. Photography as Therapy, is defined by a set of research questions: Is it possible through an artistic experiment connected to examining the topic of love to learn to understand love better and express it better? How is it even possible to perceive and understand love? And can you, through art, live a fuller life, have better relationships with loved ones and those around you, and become more empathetic? Within this work, I would like to establish the initial premise that within my creative profession my own trauma served from the start as strong motivation to create art. But creating one-off works of art does not represent an absolute solution to the problems connected to living through trauma. Healing a deep wound on the soul is not a matter of one or two years, but work for your entire lifetime. I see photography primarily as therapy, not as a means to fulfill my artistic ambitions or as a livelihood. I purposefully do not take on commercial projects; I choose strong and important topics that shape me and have a very positive influence on my life, or at least facets of it.
Key words
Artistic Research. Autoetnography. In-depth Talks. Love. Perspectives Sharing. Phtoography. Role-playing Method. Therapy. Trauma.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/ejmap-24-02-01
Pepe, D. (2024). Borders of Love: Trauma as Motivation to Create Art. Photography as Therapy. European Journal of Media, Art & Photography, 12(2), 6-37.