Images and text on this site © Linda Dawn Hammond 2004

Please Don't Make Me Hurt You - stills from Video / Return to CV MENU

"Please Don't (Make Me Hurt You)"
An Artist's book (2004) and 2 photographic collages.

The work was presented as part of a group exhibit, "Fire With Water", presented at Cafe Silencio in March, 2004. The exhibit is "intended as a testament to the strength and courage of survivors of sexual assault, and is sponsored by the Sexual Assault Centre of the McGill Student's Society".
"Please Don't Make Me Hurt You" is a "photo roman", written and photographed by Linda Dawn Hammond, which uses actors to recreate the story of a rape which occurred in LA in 1978.
The series was photographed from the visual as well as emotional perspective of the victim, with equal emphasis placed on the aftermath as the attack itself. It is a highly emotional, disturbing piece which attempts to convey the raw truth of rape.
The actors in the photo roman were photographed in Montreal in 1992. Additional video and still footage of the LA area was later added.
"Please Don't Make Me Hurt You" is part of a larger body of work entitled, "Fear Of Females", and was originally presented as an installation, incorporating stills, video and mixed media.
For the exhibition at Cafe Silencio, the images and text were digitally reworked (2004) and presented for the first time in book form. Selected photographs from the series were exhibited in frames as collages. An earlier, very rough version of the video was screened during the vernissage only.
The scenes are depicted by actors, and no people or animals were harmed in the making of the piece.