Bruised Fruit

It is our privilege to be sharing this remarkable artwork by Jemma Third, which is incredibly powerful and moving. The piece is a collage called ‘Bruised Fruit’ and represents her experience of sexual assault/rape.

This piece feels so raw to me; made with recycled art prints and old found photographs I sourced from boot sales with my dad. The prose is all my own and cut from children's books that were still usable after water damaged from a flood in the library. The piece itself is on canvas, measured at 91.4 x 61 cm. I've always thought fondly of Pablo Picasso's blue period (even if well-known) so for quite awhile I've been sort of working in a green period myself, which holds a lot of maternal meaning to me and blends well with the piece's core subject of my own sexual assault/rape and my understanding of myself through this time. It's title is also: 'bruised fruit'.

Fourteen prose/poetry: (in no order)

1 - 'like bruised fruit.'

2 - 'a plum tart'

3 - 'i am not beautiful.

i am.

i am.'

4 - 'i feel dirtier than any piece of fabric could ever make me feel.'

5 - 'i just told my mum about you. do you think she'll look at me the same?'

6 - 'i don't want to be an understanding person if this means i have to feel everything to understand'

7 - 'maybe i'm losing being a nice person. maybe this is all i could take before i break and become unkind'

8 - 'i can't even take my socks off anymore.'

9 - 'i said you were my muse but i didn't mean like this'

10 - 'i was nice in the beginning.'

11 - 'is this part of being a daughter?'

12 - 'would i have still complied to that afternoon?'

13 - 'if only i could pick this - you off like the skin on my lips'

14 - 'i'm still relearning how to wash my hair'

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For support

For information about Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre's information, advocacy and support services please visit our website.

Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline 08088 01 03 02 (6pm - midnight every night) offers free and confidential support and information. They offer support to anyone aged 13 and over, of any gender, affected by any form of sexual violence, no matter when or how it happened. They support survivors, as well as family, friends, and supporters. They can arrange for free language interpreters, including British Sign Language, to access support if your first language is not English.