SHA AM ME

“Shame culture is mainly found in traditional, group-based societies. The group plays a key role in the implementation of social norms, and the group punishes individuals by shaming them. The penalty is that the group pays attention to the violation of the rules. An individual’s reaction to shame – as opposed to a sense of responsibility – is often external – externalizing and projecting.” * 

We were all ashamed of something as a child, so many of us still feel very ashamed, as if we were still young and the shame could be twice our size. Usually we want to shrink even smaller in shame. It’s only because we still have a shameful child in all of us, but in reality we are bigger than shame and can deal with it, not hide.

In this photo series, I asked people to share their shameful experiences in front of the camera.

* Kulbergs J. Dynamic Psychiatry. Riga: Jumava, 2001. p. 437.