Kathy Shorr : SHOT : Survivors of Gun Violence in America
By Stephanie Seguino
“
I want people to see what it is like to be shot and to understand that it can happen to any of us , anywhere . — Kathy Shorr
We can ’ t talk about guns in America — not very easily . Not without shouting , slamming doors , walking out on each other , and unraveling our relationships .
But it does not mean we should give up . What then is the way forward ?
Kathy Shorr , in her photographic series , SHOT , shows us a way . In a project that spanned more than two years , Shorr photographed a panoply of survivors of gun violence that span class , race , geographic , and gender boundaries . The 101 subjects in the series are people like you and me . They are not different . They are not other . And that is the power of this work .
Despite the tendency for the topic of gun violence to polarize us , Shorr ’ s work does not blame . Her images instead invite viewers to create an understanding of gun violence as a palpable , physical event , not an abstract thought .
Shorr says , “ I want people to see what it is like to be shot and to understand that it can happen to any of us , anywhere .”
Shorr ’ s subjects agreed to be photographed in the same location in which they were shot — in the Walmart parking lot , in their own homes , in their cars , walking through Times Square . I asked her if her subjects were re-traumatized by returning to this place . Shorr said in fact it was often cathartic and empowering to return to the site of the event .
Shorr , a New Yorker born in Brooklyn and now living in Manhattan , knows intimately the impact of gun violence . During a home invasion years ago , robbers pointed a gun at her and her daughter . Though they were unharmed in the robbery , Shorr says “ I knew what it felt like to have someone have the power to control your destiny and possibly the destiny of someone you loved . The emotional impact of a gun pointed at you is a feeling that stays with you .”
The SHOT project itself evolved from a sense that although the news media focus on deaths , there was little attention to those who survived shootings . Shorr wanted to shine a light on them and to share with others what these survivors had to say about their experiences .
Some of Shorr ’ s subjects are survivors of domestic violence , others responsible gun owners themselves . Their portraits demonstrate that no racial / ethnic group , no part of the country , no age group is spared .
Shorr spent many days doing research to identify possible subjects . She read newspapers , looking for survivor names , then went to the Whitepages to find them . And she contacted domestic violence organizations for leads . Shorr funded the entire two-year project herself . As her work continued and became more public , people began to call to ask her if they could be part of it . She began her project in 2013 , and when completed in 2015 , it included people from 45 cities across the United States .
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