Stay Softย 2016
"Stay soft. For theย sake of anyone who
cannot feel or swimย inside of their own
skin, caughtย between built
barriers now solidย as stone. Show them
the depth of seas.ย The language of
water."
cannot feel or swimย inside of their own
skin, caughtย between built
barriers now solidย as stone. Show them
the depth of seas.ย The language of
water."
โ Victoria Erickson
"There's a softness to themโyour pictures," a close friend remarks as I share my images with her. In that moment, something within me rises to the surface: defiance, almost disgust, and the realisation of my aversion to a word I unknowingly associated with weakness. I don't want my images to be soft; I don't want to be seen as soft. More emotion wells up inside, and upon rising, it seems to surrender to the air. I understand nowโbeing soft doesn't mean you are not strong. There is strength in softness. It's a simple truth, yet its profundity puts cracks in old, hardened walls; walls I constructed when I was a young girl, believing they were an achievement of strength.
โ
