Art, for me, is — a way to turn pain into something that might still hold light.
Pippa
I asked her to climb through a window.
As a child, I escaped this way too. My bedroom window opened onto a forest. Beyond it was a place where adults couldn't follow, where the noise stopped, where I could disappear long enough to remember I am connected to the woods, animals and sky. It was hiding, but it was also crossing a boundary — stepping from fear into possibility.
When I photographed Pippa, I asked her to crouch beneath the fire escape sign, poised to leap. The sign became more than a piece of health and safety. It became a reminder that sometimes we need permission to leave. Sometimes we need to notice the signs telling us there is another way.
Maybe that is what this photograph is really about.
Not running away.
But recognising the moment when survival becomes freedom, and finding the courage to climb through the window.
