Photographer Feature: The SCAR Project by David Jay
“The scars are just markers that something else has happened.”
DAVID JAY: I want to be clear, ultimately The SCAR Project is not about breast cancer. It is about many things. It’s very easy to look at the images and see breast cancer, but saying that would be like looking at the ocean and only seeing water. It’s certainly not about the scars. I’m not interested in them; the scars are just markers that something else has happened.
I struggled shooting The SCAR Project. I was torn. I wanted the pictures to be raw, honest, sincere. Yet I knew why the subjects had come—they wanted something beautiful. They had already suffered greatly and although I desperately wanted to serve them, I knew in my heart that compromising the visual integrity of The SCAR Project for the sake of easily digested beauty would serve no one. There is an inherent beauty in humanity. A beauty that transcends the glossy, mass-produced images force-fed by popular media. We recognize it instantly: The human condition. Hope, despair, love, loss, courage, fear. Such fragile beauty. I moved closer.
The images can be uncomfortable for the viewer. It forces us to confront our fears and inhibitions about life, death, sexuality, sickness, relationships, etc. I once read it described as “unflinching.” Reality is not always pretty. This is reality. Let’s address it. The SCAR Project presents an opportunity to open a dialogue about issues we are not necessarily comfortable with.
All Images © David Jay Photography.
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David Jay has been shooting fashion and beauty professionally for over 15 years. Like so many others personally touched by the disease, Jay was inspired to act when a dear friend was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. Like the subjects themselves, Jay’s stark, bold portraits challenge traditional perceptions of the disease and capture the raw beauty, strength and character of so many extraordinary young women. Each portrait represents a singular, stripped-down vision of the life-changing journey that unites them all. He held several solo exhibitions throughout the world and has received much recognition and several awards for his work, including The New York Times, TIME, GQ, USA Today, Psychology Today, among others. You can view his other series on his website, here, and IG @davidjayphotography.