My name is Paige Megan Hawley, I am a photographer and curator based in London. My work stems back from when I was raped 4 years ago. I documented the aftermath of my rape and the effects it had on me, this then lead onto my projects ‘Process and Stop,’ which define my healing process through the development stages of photographic film processing.
After such tragedy, I wanted to create work that portrays the male gaze. I photographed myself in a way that was very exposing. I shot these images on colour medium format film, the square formatted images were framed in window frames so the viewer was like a roleplay of the male looking through and seeing something more shocking than expected.
I am currently working on a photography project ‘#capturingmetoo‘ and looking for survivors who want to gain a voice through photography. The idea is that the survivor will be exposing themselves, and taking back control, yes I am in control of the camera set up, but they will be using a shutter release to capture themselves when they are ready. The whole idea is to gain back power by exposing themselves and their story. In doing this they will also be in control if they would like their image to be black and white or colour, to reflect on the mood they’d like to reveal within their journey.
I am also documenting my own pregnancy, at the moment its only the beginning but I’m photographing from my perspective and my bump growing over the weeks. I’ve also been taking some self-portraits as I don’t think expecting mothers should be ashamed of their body. For a few weeks now my clothes are gradually getting smaller and I’ve been having crying spells due to hormones. It’s crazy, but I’m documenting the good and difficult times of pregnancy, including my most recent image ‘Do Not Touch the Bump‘ 16 Weeks, 5 days, 2018, which I literally shot yesterday. I used an ink pad and placed a handprint on my belly to reveal conceptually in the image, not to touch my bump without my consent. The lighting also indicates protection, as I am very protective of my baby already! Especially with the scary world we are bringing babies into, and like any mother just wanting the best for my child.
And last but not least, ‘Feminism In Focus‘ is my most recent project, which I am eventually going to be creating an exhibition space for feminist photographers. At the moment I’m building up an Instagram page, and interest to which I will be taking submissions of feminist photography within the themes that I post. I have been posting different feminist photographers who have influenced me over the years, including first wave feminism to contemporary. You can follow on Instagram @_feminisminfocus and Facebook @feminisminfoucs.
