Check out our Unstoppable photo exhibit

It’s a wrap! Our Unstoppable 3.0 photo exhibit was on October 7th, and it was a success! We sold around 90 tickets and were able to get $2000 for the 2 charities we raised funds for: After Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Canada.

Since our exhibit is over, we can finally share with you all the photographs! This collection includes 19 photos, divided into 4 distinct sets, and we'd love to give you some insight into the story behind them.

When we started to brainstorm about the photoshoot, it was really important for us to work with women who were breast cancer patients and survivors to showcase different type of bodies and breasts, as most of them have undergone single or double mastectomies, some with breast reconstructions and some without.

We also wanted to illustrate the struggle of body-acceptance for breast cancer survivors, especially after a single or double mastectomy. It’s an unfortunate reality that breasts are often tied to ideas of femininity and sexuality. The emotional and mental impact on women when their bodies are changed in such a significant way is barely discussed. They are left feeling less beautiful, less feminine, and less worthy.

This exhibit is our way of showing our support, love, and admiration to all the women who are dealing with breast cancer 💗

Set 1

For the 1st set, we asked all of these beautiful women to start by covering themselves, except 3 of them, to showcase them as pioneers towards self-acceptance.

It was important that most of the models hide themselves and look away from the camera, to also show the feeling of loneliness breast cancer can make you feel. We use red as primary colour for the fabrics to show the pain, heartbreaks, and internal fights those women have to go through.

Set 2

The 2nd one was created with the idea of showing more women slowly uncovering, with the support of the first 3 models, and feeling more comfortable with their naked body.

In this set, we really wanted to recreate a boudoir room, with bright and light colours to bring a feeling of peace and happiness, in which our models are taking care of each other to represent the power of sisterhood and showcase the importance of having a feminine circle to fight the loneliness you can see in the set before.

Set 3

The 3rd set is the "no f*cks given" set, designed to be bold and defiant.

In this set, ours models are fully showing their breast and feeling more confident with their bodies. We chose royal colours such as gold to highlight their power and courage! We wanted something unapologetic and for these women to make a statement:

They will not hide any longer!

Set 4

The last one is s heavily influenced by the Renaissance era, and is all about rest and reflection to continue their healing process.

In this set, we used blue and purple colours for the fabrics, as we wanted to create a relaxed and serene atmosphere, symbolizing the achievement of self-love and the unity of a newfound community.

It was also very important to pose them in the most soften ways possible to showcase their natural bodies, and emphasize that stillness state.

Doing this 3rd edition of our Unstoppable serie was once again a beautiful journey rich in emotions, and it was a true pleasure meeting wonderful human beings! In case you were not at the opening night of this exhibit, we hope you enjoyed seeing the photos in this blog article and the story behind this project.

We want to thank all the fabulous people who have helped us created such a beautiful event, we are forever grateful!

Abusive Relationships: When Clarity Hits.

Abusive relationships are a lot more common that we'd like to think. If you didn't live it yourself, we can guarantee that you know a few loved ones who did. From manipulation to violence, the spectrum of abusive relationships is extremely wide, making it blurry in some cases to realize you're stuck in one.

In our line of work, many women come to us after leaving abusive relationships, as a way to reclaim their bodies and confidence. Their stories have inspired us to host our first exhibit to raise funds against domestic violence, and we had a conversation with Eden in the process, who kindly shared her story with us. We hope it will help give clarity to someone who may need it.

An abusive relationship gradually sneaks up on you before you know it.

It is safe to say that we have all stayed in situations that didn't feel quite right. We saw the red flags. We felt that sinking feeling in our stomachs. But yet, we found excuses and forgot about it all when the sun was shining. Until it didn't.

"Abuse does not look one exact way.” Eden says “There are many ways to create control, fear, and insecurity and brute force is not always required. I frequently felt like I was the aggressor and cause of my partner's agony. Almost every sexual encounter was coercive in nature. When I would not comply, I would be met with tears, anger, hours of conversation, and accusations that I was simply withholding as a form of punishment. I was never hit but I lived in a state of constant anxiety and shame."

Growing up, especially as women, we are taught to put up with a lot of discomfort wrapped in sparkly wrapping paper.

Take something as simple as blame & guilt, for example. Both are dominant feelings, abundantly used to manipulate, yet we are not taught to pause and ask ourselves if their claims or labels are legitimate or not to begin with. We are just taught that if you feel it, there is a right reason for it.

Eden wrote the perfect example: “I was frequently accused of causing heartache while having my character smeared and being denied the right to say no. This left me feeling like a terrible person and made it easier for me to blame myself for their feelings of jealousy and rejection."

But… "why did you stay?”

The question burning the lips of outsiders. The answer? Because it's not that simple. You don't wake up one day feeling suddenly ready to end something you've worked so hard to maintain, built on excuses you believed in.

“It took me a long time to fully admit the implications of my ex-partner’s behaviour.” Eden added ”My clarity came from many individual moments. One significant one, however, was when I was telling my friend about my very last encounter with this person. I was finally being honest with them about some of the arguments and violations I had hidden.

When I turned to look at my friend, they were crying. I knew that the experience had felt wrong and I had not been able to stop thinking about it, but seeing their tears and hearing them say that this shouldn’t have happened to me was the first moment that I realized I had lost perspective.

Their reactions helped a lot. They reassured me over and over that this person was pushing boundaries, disregarding consent, and acting in an abusive manner. I felt so unsure of myself at this point but I felt that I could trust them and believe them more than myself. “

Putting an end to it, despite the blur.

We asked Eden how her relationship ended:

“I ended things. I asked my friends to help in the process. Asking them to remind me of why I was doing it, who I was outside of this relationship, and hold me to it regardless of my feelings. They texted me the whole train ride home and made me feel brave. I did it as safely as possible and blocked them when I felt ready.”

Then what? The rollercoaster of the healing process.

Just like you don't develop the courage of leaving such a relationship in one day, there is no magic button to erase all repercussions and become all smiles and giggles.

“I still actively deal with the repercussions of this relationship.

Most days I forget about them, which feels like a sort of revenge. Other days I struggle with nightmares and feelings of deep shame. It shaped how I chose partners afterwards, seeking out protection and confidence over emotional safety and a gentle nature. It also left me with physical repercussions as I developed Vaginismus during this time.

Therapy was my first real step towards healing. I needed the permission to call it what it was, because I had not felt empowered to previously. I also really put in work setting boundaries and healing my relationship with my body (exercising, doing self-care, doing boudoir shoots, refusing sex when it caused pain, etc.). My next relationship was unfortunately not a kind one, so after this I gave myself a much needed break."

Are you relating to any of this?

If so, you may want to read some of Eden's advice: "trust your intuition. Although I struggled to find clarity, there were many moments when my intuition told me I was unsafe, unhappy, and feeling violated.

I would also suggest that you believe people when they tell you who they are. Whether they outwardly label themselves as “bad” or show you through actions. You cannot heal someone through love and kindness. A dead plant won’t grow no matter how much you water it. You always deserve to come first and heartache does not last forever.

If you are losing perspective, then find an impartial third party like a counsellor or trusted person.”

If you need help, please refer to this link to find support in your province. You don't have to deal with this alone.

Did you like what you just read? Join our community via our newsletter below (we email once a week!) and get the info about our upcoming exhibit supporting Sistering and the Canadian Women's Foundation.

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How we ended up creating an exhibit for women

Ever since we began our careers as photographers, we put "hosting an exhibit” on our "dream big” bucket list. You know, the list of things you don't really dare thinking they could actually happen because they seem so huge to you? Yes, that list.

And it stayed there for 4 years. The idea resurfaced in conversations here and there, before getting buried by other projects deemed more accessible.

Until the day it actually turned out to be in our reach.

Here is a tiiiiiny glimpse of what we're cooking

It is safe to say that, so far, we've never had a project aligning so smoothly. Every single projects we have created required an insane amount of hustling and hope, and many of them failed. This one was brought to us and is just clicking its way forward. And it all started with…

Meeting the right people.

Our job allows us to meet wonderful people. The kind of people who are looking to make a difference within themselves. And those people are also the ones who are ready to lend a hand to others.

Back in July 2021, we had no idea that one of our clients worked at gallery right downtown Toronto (in a building we have been in many times, dreaming of the day we will get to do something there may we add) until she casually said:

"If you guys ever need a gallery space, just let me know and I will see what I can do!”

Dyana planted the seed and we didn't think much of it, until we started working on renewing a past project: Unstoppable.

Our freshly done logo

Wanting to do something bigger.

Unstoppable was a big group photoshoot we initially launched in 2019, in order to raise awareness around the fact that just because you choose to take intimate photos of yourself does not justify you losing credibility, on top of adding a good layer of body positivity.

We had been dying to do a second edition and we were in the middle of brainstorming it when Dyana made that comment.

Then it clicked in our brains: what if we could turn this project into an exhibit?

Except it wasn't enough. A project like this becomes even more meaningful when it relates to a cause.

This was pretty much right between lockdowns in Toronto. And somehow, we kept coming across organizations and articles sharing about how much those lockdowns have made the number of women victim of domestic violence skyrocket.

Many of our clients are survivors of abusive and violent relationships. They come to us as a way to celebrate their getting out of it and reclaiming their own image.

Scandaleuse was created to give women a way to express and liberate themselves. As you can imagine, we have always been extremely touched by those stories.

And just like that, we had a chance to help differently.

This entire exhibit and photoshoot would be created to raise funds and awareness for organizations helping women victim of domestic violence.

Ok, great, but who to help?

Before we could even finish that though, the universe aligned once again: another one of our clients randomly told us about her volunteering for a women shelter in the city. She gave us some contact we could talk to and we ended up connection with both Sistering and Canadian Women's Foundation.

Getting support.

Now, we are at the stage where things are getting real. The support we have received so far has been so organic. We created a whole concept around the photographs and did the shoot with 10 amazing women. The gallery is secured thanks to Dyana. The charity is on board thanks to Apharnna. We even got a grant from the Ontario Arts Council (thank you Victoria!).

We are currently looking for sponsors and an ad agency to help us spread awareness. If you or someone you know can help, please contact us here.

We are learning many things along the way and we can't wait to show you more. In the meantime, mark your calendars for March 8th, for our big opening night!

If you want to keep an eye on this project and get all of the info when the time comes, make sure to join our weekly newsletter below! ⬇️

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Supported by the Ontario Arts Council