Photographer Geoff Johnson lived in this house until he turned 17. Behind the Door is series of photos he took when he had to go back to this place, after his mother passed and the house was left to him and his sister. Their mother was a hoarder, and living between piles of stuff and broken appliances had a deep psychological impact on both Johnson and his sister. To face their old feelings of shame, they photographed the place and then used Photoshop to super impose their own children into the photos.
Most of us know what it’s like to live with a degree of mess and clutter way way below this (and hey, I’m working on mine, ok?).
Most of us know what was like to be a child and hide something that you thought was shameful or something the others would laugh at.
Now imagine having to hide this mess from others while having to live with it as well.
I think that showing these photos to the world is a real act of courage. There’s something so fragile about them and about opting to show others what was like to be there as a child. Showing this photos to the world means opening a door to something that made them feel ashamed their entire life.
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