Horsley photographer Katrina Forster has taken a side step from her usual projects of fashion shoots and adorable baby portraits to show the depths of what bullying can cause.
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Both her teenage children have been driven to suicide attempts because they could no longer cope with being severely bullied.
For the past 12 months Ms Forster has been creating images for an exhibition opening on November 16, Status Quo. It’s a project unlike anything she’s ever done before.
Viewers will walk through the evolution bullying has on a person, the forms it takes, the torments, how it changes somebody’s “life path” and how people can get help.
Ms Forster said it would shock people as they walked around the Project Contemporary Art Space in Wollongong, though at the end there would be a random act of kindness tree and an inspiration wall with the hope for viewers to be filled with positivity.
“I wanted to create emotion in my images,” she said.
“I want to educate across the generations, I want them to walk in and feel something. I don’t think people really understand what bullying is ... from a parents perspective it’s gut wrenching.”
Earlier this year her daughter overdosed due to what her mother calls being “pushed over the edge”.
It came after years of abuse from having her hair set on fire, food thrown at her at school and a sexually explicit fake Facebook page created which was eventually taken down by authorities.
I want to educate across the generations, I want them to walk in and feel something. I don’t think people really understand what bullying is.
- Katrina Forster
Ms Forster said they’d tried everything from meetings with teachers, school principals, counselors and police.
“I don’t think the schools are equipped enough to deal with what’s going on,” she said. “They’re not educating [students] as to why they shouldn’t do it and what harm it can cause ... I am going to try.”
After Status Quo ends late November Ms Forster wants to get the project into schools as a digital education package.
“I hope to give all who have been bullied a voice and those who have bullied, do bully or think about bullying a bit of empathy,” she said.
“I believe that people need to see to understand.”
Status Quo, a “visual journey [to] lead you to the core of what bullying is”, Project Contemporary Art Space from November 16 to 27.
- If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14