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Cyberbullying: Words Wound

No one was maimed with a keyboard in the making of this image. But ouch doesn't it look like it!

We’re excited to showcase the results of an exciting artistic collaboration between Cybersmile, Max Oppenheim and prosthetic artist, Bill Turpin.

The Words Wound concept was designed to express the real human emotion involved in cyberbullying and highlight much needed awareness of the issue around Stop Cyberbullying Day. While a world away from the #POSITIVITY we like to generate across the internet, this incredible piece of work creates a huge impact and gives a visual representation of the pain experienced by victims of cyberbullying.

“Bill and I took on this project after Bill had to endure some arrogant comments about a piece of work we had done together from a militant vegan online. We realised how things can quickly get out of hand online and the misinterpretation that can take place, and the snowball effect of abuse. People get very bold and aggressive when hiding behind their online avatar. This led onto the idea of the computer keys under the skin – representing the emotional pressure online abuse can create.”

Max Oppenheim, Photographer, ‘Words Wound’ campaign

Max looked into online bullying charities and Cybersmile was top of the list, and conveniently had an office located around the corner from his studio in London!

Max added about the campaign “The retouching was the final stage, excellently executed by Stefano at Happy Finish. For Bill and I it has all being about creating an image that looks totally real and resonates beyond the initial view. We both believe in the power of the still image to communicate a message in a deep, direct way. We wanted to communicate the pressure and pain of words, by creating a physical manifestation of the concept, as people can relate more directly to physical than mental anguish.”

We hope that this image project will capture the attention of people around the world, helping us to drive home our message that words online hurt the same as words offline – pain feels the same regardless of communication method.

If you are affected by any kind of online negativity, we can help! Visit our Cyberbullying and Online Abuse Help Center or our Total Access Support section to learn about the various ways we can help you with your problem. For more information about Cybersmile and our work, please follow the links below.

We want to say a huge thank you to the following professionals for making this project such a success!

Max Oppenheim – Photographer
Bill Turpin – Prosthetic Artist
Happy Finish – Retouching
John Robertson – 3D Model Printing