1/20/11

Izabella Demavlys

Website: www.izabellademavlys.com

Acid attack survivors in Pakistan

“Memona & Kanwal” 20” x 24” digital c-print. Both girls attacked on their way to school.

Biography of Izabella Demavlys

“I strongly believe that beauty is impossible to define solely by appearance. To illustrate deeper definition of female beauty, I photograph women whose pictorial beauty radiates from their accomplishment, character and personal struggles."

Izabella was born in Sweden to Brazilian and Croatian parents. She currently lives and works in both New York City and Los Angeles. Here are her own words about her work…“I studied photography at both the Royal Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia and Parsons School of Design here in New York City. For many years I focused on fashion photography, but in the fall of 2009 I decided to travel to Pakistan to pursue documentary work about women who had suffered brutal acid attacks. After years of struggling to find a voice within my work, I now realized that my passion as a photographer was to focus on women in struggling societies. In this field I found my work to be engaging and potentially inspiring and able to make an impact. I called the series “Without A Face”. The images alone cannot change the world; they can bring attention to an issue and possibly initiate action. It is a form of activism- a catalyst for change- but the real change is in the hands of the viewers and the affected regions. I worked with an NGO which helps burned women with reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation and therapy. There are currently over 400 women waiting for reconstructive surgery after acid attacks in Lahore, Pakistan. My aim with this project is to follow these women through a couple of years while they not only rebuild their face through surgery but also build the courage, hope, acceptance and self-esteem to continue living a meaningful life with a disfigured face”

Pakistan is in the process of passing an act which is long overdue and which has the potential to limit the number of acid attacks in Pakistan by regulating the sale of acid and ensuring that attackers are punished for their crimes. The Acid Crime Prevention Bill was introduced in 2009 as a result of an acid attack case which was the first of its kind to be taken to the supreme court of Pakistan. The case involved an acid attack on a 13 year old girl by a man who was enraged after her parents refused to allow him to marry her. Visit www.acidsurvivorspakistan.org for more information.”

Images

"Saria", 20” x 24” digital c-print

The first acid burn victim I met in Pakistan was Saira. I didn’t know where to look at first. At first I was ashamed of just wanting to stare at her, because it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before in real life, but after being accustomed to her scarred face, I embraced her courage. Watching her body language in communication with translators, I felt the radiation of her inner beauty. An interviewer asked me recently, challenging my idea of these women being an inspiration to me and trying to convey that to others, “But don’t you think they see themselves as victims? I would be furiously bitter and angry.” Of course they see themselves as victims and I’m not trying to take that away from them. But what I also want to emphasize is; how are these women dealing with life today? Are they still ashamed? And are they still bitter? Would you be bitter for the rest of your life, or would you at some point come to terms with it, determined to move forward and focus on the present and future? In a world where beauty is mostly seen as something we carry upon our faces, how would you come to terms with living with a severely scarred face for the rest of your life?"

"Raffat, Lahore", 20” x 24” digital c-print

17 years old, 13 operations. Attacked in 2008 by her cousin who wanted to marry her. The attack happened while she was sleeping, nine days before her wedding to someone else.

"Kanwal, Karachi", 24” x 24”, digital c-print

The attacker is usually a family member; an abusive husband, relatives seeking revenge or the cause could be a refused marriage proposal. In other cases, attackers are no more than strangers on the street. Most of the attacks are done on women and if they are not killed, they are scarred mentally and physically for life. Kanwal is 25 years old and has had12 operations. She was attacked two years ago by a stranger knocking at her door.


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