Starting a Suicide Awareness/Prevention Project. Looking For Advice.

[Hof8231]

Hello all, for those who don't know I'm a survivor of a suicide attempt. I've decided to try to do a photography project on this in hopes to get my story out there and raise some awareness about depression and suicide to help other people who are suffering from depression.

That said, I would like some advice on how to go about it. One idea I have is to have people hold signs (real original, I know) stating how suicide or depression has affected them or their loved ones. Another idea is to take photos of instruments used to commit suicide (guns, razors, pills, nooses, etc.) either with just a basic background or a literal message in a tactful way. I've had ideas of taking a picture of my feet on the edge of the roof, a fake razor cut and some words written in sharpie down my arm, and stuff like that.

I'm wondering if any of you can either comment on what you think about my current ideas or help me come up with new ones. This is a subject matter that is very important to me and I want to do this the best way I can. Thanks for looking and for any help!

This is all I have so far:

 

[Tony S]

Go another route, show the families that have to live with what comes with suicide. Or even show the families with members who have attempted suicide and survived with a message along the lines of "it touches more than just you".



I am a survivor of my father's suicide. There are so many things in my life he missed out on.....

 

[Denon]

I have a great person and a close friend who have been suicidal and depressed(starting to get better, it's a struggle but getting there piece by piece) so I know a bit about the subject. And I just feel you shouldn't use the current idea with the photo, I feel it's to graphic and doesn't suit the project.

I like Tony S idea, show the families and all the people around them because it affects a lot of people around them. That feeling should be the foundation of the project.

 

[amolitor]

I think the people holding signs is a good one. Sure, it's been done, but it's powerful as hell. An alternative is to have them write a slightly longer item, and make composites of their writing overlaid on a portrait.

The instruments used series is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure how effective it is.

I think you need to take a step back and think about the goal here. I assume at the highest level it's "prevent suicides"? But break it down, how? What message are you going to deliver, and to whom?

- You can urge the depressed not to commit suicide, or to seek help, or ..
- You can urge those AROUND the depressed to offer help, to take preventative steps (lock the gun), to intervent (as in an intervention)

and so on. WHO are you communicating with, and WHAT do you want to say?

Of course there's no harm in mulling over ideas for a photographic series, possibly the photographic idea will drive the ultimate answers to WHO and WHAT.

You might also want to consider what's been done, what there's a need for, and who can help you deliver your message.

This is a totally worthy project! Keep at it!

 

[TransportJockey]

I think the sign thing is a good idea. I'd be more than willing to help a little too.
My girlfriend killed herself 2 years ago May 22nd, so I can very much sympathize.

 

[sm4him]

My cousin, who was very much like a little brother to me (including the fact that he lived with us for a time) committed suicide. It was many years ago, but when I think about it, and him, it still makes me cry to think of all he missed out on. He would LOVED my two boys; but he never got the chance to meet them. His death literally almost killed my grandmother--for a long time, we really didn't think she'd ever recover from the loss.

I've also struggled with clinical depression and have had more than your average passing suicidal thought. I used to come up with ways that I could do it and have it look like a complete accident, because I didn't want my loved ones to KNOW it was suicide. (Dear TPF'ers: Don't worry about me. I'm feeling MUCH BETTER now, lol. No seriously, I haven't had any sort of major depressive episode in nearly five years now...woot!)

So yeah, I can definitely see the value in a project like this, and I can see some real "therapy" value in it, for you, as well. However, it seems to me like the second idea, using photos of "instruments of suicide" or ways people attempt it would be really difficult to pull off tactfully. You want it to be really clear that the message is NOT glorifying suicide, and I fear that the "instruments of suicide" could easily step over that line if you're not careful.

 

[Hof8231]

Thanks for all the feedback! And yeah, I know the instrument one could be difficult to pull off in a tasteful way. The one idea I had for that was to hang a noose in my basement (which is very dark/dingy looking) and have my parents in the background with the noose in focus and a very large aperture so my parents would be blurred in the background. Then have maybe a note hanging from the noose saying "Think about those you'd leave behind" or something like that. Ideally, I think that could turn out well with a good message, but in practice I'm not sure how well I'd be able to do it.

 

[ph0enix]

Thanks for all the feedback! And yeah, I know the instrument one could be difficult to pull off in a tasteful way. The one idea I had for that was to hang a noose in my basement (which is very dark/dingy looking) and have my parents in the background with the noose in focus and a very large aperture so my parents would be blurred in the background. Then have maybe a note hanging from the noose saying "Think about those you'd leave behind" or something like that. Ideally, I think that could turn out well with a good message, but in practice I'm not sure how well I'd be able to do it.

I like this concept except that I would probably have a group of people (family & friends) in the photo instead of just your parents. The viewer might not necessarily know your parents or your story. You want to convey a message with the image itself. I would also consider keeping the focus on the people to to accentuate their importance (in preventing and being affected by suicide of a loved one) and maybe blur the noose.

 

[dannydoyle]

I would go down the route of using others who are affected by suicide. I know it is not your target audience but if someone who is thinking of committing suicide then if they are aware of how their actions would affect their loved ones it may be enough to stop them. The photos alone could be high impacting like family's grieving.

Otherwise I would go with the instruments used and e descriptive about it.

 

[Lady_Winter]

Is it too late to weigh in? Reading this thread I liked the idea of showing those left behind. But I'd like to see these people in context. So I had the idea of setting it up as "leaving a hole behind" or "empty chairs at empty tables" scene: A seemingly normal family snapshot with somebody missing. So it could be around the table and somebody is in a "conversation" with, or looking at, the air above an empty chair. Or playing basketball, blocking a nonexistent player. Or a wedding shot without a bride.

I just did a cheap-o 30-sec edit in PS to show what I mean (but maybe with a little less smiling ):

(image credit)

 

[TMHahn]

I would think that objects from suicide attempts might be triggers for some people. Just like seeing a razor blade can make some people want to cut.

Instead, I would take pictures of individuals. Not smiling. Just standing there. "Depression can effect anyone." You wouldn't know from the pictures who was suffering and who wasn't. I think surviving is about people - the value of the self, the value of the relationships we have (even if they are strained). I've heard it said, "think of his/her family." I think that misses the point. Suicide and depression is about being in so much pain, it seems like there's no escape. I can see taking this one of two directions. Take pictures of signs that say "Dead End" or "No Way Out." Embrace suicide as your topic and see how you can find representations for it. Or, as another option, take pictures of survivors and put captions on them. Embrace the lives of those who live another day.

What medium were you thinking about? Printed and put in a gallery? A website?

I think you have the start of a great idea. Personally, I combat depression with my photography. Photography is about living in the now. Photographs may have a hint of what once was, but the actual act of photography keeps me in the present instead of being sad about the past or anxious about the future.