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Artwork to show the 'deep impact' of domestic abuse

Holly Ringrose A digital art image of Sharon Livermore by Holly Ringrose, showing Sharon, smiling to the camera, with her blonde hair up, wearing a long necklace, black top and green jacket Holly Ringrose
Holly Ringrose has created a digital artwork image of Sharon Livermore, who started Domestic Abuse Education in 2015

A domestic abuse survivor said an art exhibition would show the "deep impact" violence had on people's lives and the need to "do something about it".

Sharon Livermore MBE, of Domestic Abuse Education, has been working with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) on Breaking the Silence: Art Against Abuse.

Alongside organisations and five trained student domestic abuse ambassadors, the public display will be in room LAB 027 on the university's East Road campus in Cambridge, on Wednesday 2 October.

Ms Livermoore, said the show will have "trigger warnings" as it was a subject not to "hide away from".

Jennifer Zabek A picture of a young girl, wearing a red jumper, clutching a soft toy, looking up worried at a figureJennifer Zabek
Artwork by Jennifer Zabek featured in the exhibition

The exhibit, which included poetry, prints, paintings and digital artwork, has been about six months in the planning.

It featured work by artist Holly Ringrose, who paints unfinished portraits of women who have lost their lives due to gender-based violence.

She paints for a minute for each year the women lived.

A black and white digital image of Ellie Gould, 17, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Thomas Griffiths, in Wiltshire in 2019, was created in 17 minutes.

Holly Ringrose An image created by Holly Ringrose of Ellie Gould, who was murdered in 2019, it is a black outline of Ellie, on a white background, showing a young girl with long hair and smiling to the cameraHolly Ringrose
The family of Ellie Gould approved of an image of her to feature in the exhibition to highlight the impact of domestic violence

"It showcases the deep impact domestic abuse has on people's lives and that we need to do something about it," Ms Livermoore said.

She said counsellors, wellbeing teams and experts will be on hand, including police, Women's Aid, council, Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, the Kite Trust which supports LGBTQ+ young people and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

"There's a fine line between educating people, raising awareness and shocking, but we need the balance," she added.

"I'm a survivor, if we hide away from the true facts of the impact that domestic abuse has on people's lives, then we're not giving the right message.

"The longer we sugar coat it, the harder it will be to raise awareness and make a positive change."

Domestic Abuse Education Sharon Livermore, looking at the camera, smiling, wearing a black outside, in front of a backdrop that shows a number of neon light strips Domestic Abuse Education
Sharon said domestic abuse was "a hard topic, it impacts so many people, and it does not discriminate"

Suzanne Drieu, head of counselling and wellbeing at ARU, said the university wanted to "ensure everyone is aware of the support available" as some students may have relocated and moved away from help they had been receiving.

Jennifer Zabek Artwork of a young woman by Jennifer Zabek. The woman is looking straight at the camera, with cracked grey earth around her and sky scrappers. She is in colour, the background is all in grey it is to signify a survivor leaving the darkness.Jennifer Zabek
Jennifer Zabek's piece depicts a survivor leaving the darkness
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