REVEAL TABOO. THE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE WROCŁAW CALENDAR OF AMAZONS ASSOCIATION

Abstract

Two years ago the Association of Breast Cancer Survivors from Wrocław („Femina Fenix”) together with the photographer Izabela Moczarna-Pasiek published a controversial wall-calendar showing nude acts of women after mastectomy.
In a sense this calendar was an accurate blow against agreement of silence the nonmemory accompanying death, sickness, disability, pain, tragedy, ugliness - overcoming the stereotypes of everything what we connect with a healthy womanhood. Despite the fact that the purpose of the calendar was to inoculate the audience with the sickness and draw the social attention to it, it caused many critical remarks, controversies or even indignation. On the other side, many people admired this brave project. What was interesting was the fact that that the reaction did not depend on gender, educational background, age or State of health.
In our article we consider the visual aspect of this calendar, the taboo which was revealed by publishing it and the role of such projects. Undoubtedly it has some educational significance - it informs about illness, familiarizes with it, points the necessity of preventive medical checkups and shapes our thinking. It allows to overcome the barriers between the ill and healthy persons.