Simone Engelen, 27 Drafts, 2024

“In 2006, during a school exchange year in the United States, I was sexually abused by two people. In the following years, I tried to block out all memories of this experience, which led me to develop coping mechanisms such as addiction and control problems, and deeply affected the way I interacted with others and perceived intimacy. Finally, in 2022, I decided to return to the United States with my mother to find a solution. It became a time travel in which I used my camera as a filter to create the distance necessary to engage in long avoided conversations. 27 Drafts refers to the number of attempts I made to put into words the impact of this aggression that marked the most formative years of my life.” Simone Engelen