Eva Rachel Tine

Not all scars are visible on the surface. Many domestic violence shelters require that a victim has sustained physical injuries in order to receive assistance, but the impacts of emotional abuse can also be devastating. In fact, research shows that emotional neglect is the most prevalent and harmful form of childhood trauma. Additionally, many perpetrators of neglect and abuse are also survivors of neglect and abuse; only compassion, support, safety, and love can prevent and heal abuse and neglect, in all forms.

Partnering with the Dorchester-based nonprofit Casa Myrna, which provides help to survivors of emotional abuse (as well as survivors of physical and sexual abuse), to raise money and awareness for their organization, Eva Rachel Tine photographed nearly two dozen individuals for her series, “Invisible Fractures: The Enduring Trauma of Emotional Abuse,” which opened at the Piano Craft Gallery on Feb 3, 2017.

The goals of this series were threefold:

·         To provide catharsis and an outlet to people who have experienced severely emotionally abusive romantic relationships.

·         To generate awareness and dialogue, and ideally problem solving, in regards to the prevalence and intensely destructive force of emotionally abusive relationships.

·         To help people who are currently in emotionally abusive relationships by validating their experiences, providing them with hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and by donating any proceeds from the series to organizations dedicated to helping survivors of abuse.

Every participant was screened for safe participation in this series, chose their own visual representation of how the abuse they experienced made them feel, and shared their recorded responses to a questionnaire about how the abuse has impacted them.

These are there stories.