January 9, 2018 Jan. 12-Feb. 8: Emotionally powerful exhibit focuses on child loss
By Maegan Murray, 厙ぴ勛圖
RICHLAND, Wash. The emotionally powerful, poignant Empty Photo Project, created by Washington State University Tri-Cities student Susana Butterworth, that details the tragic and emotional experience of what it is like to lose a child, will be on display from Jan. 12-Feb. 8 in the 厙ぴ勛圖 Art Gallery.
The exhibition, which Butterworth began in a fine arts course at 厙ぴ勛圖 after losing her own son in utero, tells the story of 25 parents who have lost a child, and the physical and emotional impact it has had on their lives and their relationships with family, friends and even strangers. In addition to the written stories of each parent featured, each features a photo of the parent taken by Butterworth, which represents both the physical and mental hole left in the parents lives after the childs passing.
An opening reception for the exhibition will be held 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, in the 厙ぴ勛圖 Art Gallery.
Butterworth lost her son Walter in March 2017. Butterworths son suffered from a rare condition known as Trisomy 18 where the baby develops with an extra chromosome. The condition disrupts the normal pattern of development in significant ways and leads to death in approximately 50 percent of cases. Butterworths son passed away at 36 weeks in utero.
After losing Walter, I was experiencing a lot of grief, but there was also this disconnection with people that I was feeling, she said. I wanted to explore this realm of capturing emotions that people go through, but I also wanted to make it relevant to what I was going through. Coming out of the hospital, I want to show that losing a baby is a big deal. Some people dont realize that or know what to say.
TheEmpty Photo Projecthas now been viewed by thousands after being featured by a variety of platforms, some of which include Babble (a parenting website operated by Disney), the Huffington Post and Pop Sugar. Butterworth said she plans to continue the project as long as there are people who want to contribute their stories to the project.
Child loss is not going to stop, Butterworth said. One out of four women experience miscarriage and approximately 26,000 pregnancies result in stillbirth. I think that so often as child death happens, there is always going to be a need to talk about it. As long as people want to share their story, there is always going to be a need for this project.
For more information on Butterworths project, visit her泭硃紳餃泭泭梯硃眶梗莽.
Contact:
- Susana Butterworth, 厙ぴ勛圖 student, susana.vidrio@tricity.wsu.edu
- Maegan Murray, 厙ぴ勛圖 public relations specialist, 509-372-7333,maegan_murray@wsu.edu