Karen Jerzyk – Coping with loss through photography

How do you think this project — and the story behind it — can be helpful to others coping with loss or tragedy?rn

rnIt’s incredibly important to me to be open with others about my journey with loss. While I was struggling to cope with my father’s death, I felt like I was alone on a sinking island where the sun perpetually gets lower and lower. It was scary, it was gut-wrenching, and I had days where I was determined that there was no end to my sorrow. I had no one to talk to, and it seemed like nobody understood. I was drowning.rn

I turned to my photography to have a voice. I would turn the dark weight that lived in my chest into visual stories to help myself cope. I processed any feelings I had into something visual. Using art helped me explore my feelings and release them into the wild, so to speak. The more I fought through each day and put my focus on creating, the more the darkness peeled away. rn

Then, out of the blue, things started getting better.rnIt wasn’t a defining moment. The moment wasn’t clear. Things just got easier, a little bit at a time. I was I could tell everyone who’s suffering internally that things DO get better. It sounds cliche, but it happens.

I’d like to believe that art of any form- be it music, photography, or what have you- expresses feelings that can’t be put into words. Sometimes it’s impossible to verbally describe life. I personally learned to cope with the beauty and darkness of life, and try my best to show that with my work.

Nothing is more satisfying to me than when a stranger looks at one of my photos and says “I’ve felt that…I’ve been there”. Connection and empathy and understanding are everything. I want to be open and honest with my work, and to be able to reach people in order to let them know that they’re not alone, and that wonderful things can be born out of a dark place. rn