Look At Me

One of Cape Town’s premiere performing arts companies, Artscape is sponsoring an incredible new exhibit that focuses on women with disabilities. The series of photographs by Lucie Pavlovich tells the stories of the lives of 23 women coping with various disabilities in her exhibit titled Look At Me. The concept behind these photographs is based on a book that was written by Artscape director Marlene le Roux. Le Roux became inspired to write the book after attending a conference in Cardiff, Wales on the subject of disability studies. Artscape is extremely popular with residents and tourists who are in town and staying in a Cape Town luxury hotel have the opportunity to view the exhibit and tour this great venue.

The exhibit is more than a series of photographs, it’s an experience with these 23 women, who allow viewers into their world, complete with all its elements. The subjects come from all stations in life and have various issues they must live with. Some of the women were born with disabilities while others became disabled through a traumatic event. Le Roux herself was diagnosed with polio as a child and uses a cane to walk. Her book, also titled Look At Me is her journey through self exploration and coming to terms with her physical situation. The exhibit does the same for the women who were photographed.

Both the book’s and the exhibit’s intention is to make persons with disabilities seen by the rest of the population. It’s very common for a disabled person to feel invisible to the rest of the world. Their stories and lives allow viewers to realize that they deal with the same situations and life circumstances as everyone else. These woman are sensual, creative and productive, characteristics that non-disabled people often overlook. Le Roux realized that it would take a person living with a disability to create the change in society that she was seeking.

Hip Young Things

Look At Me

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