Survivor-Led Photography in the Boxing Ring: When Light Tells the Story
The Ring and the Lens
In the same ring where I once fought, where I later performed I’m Gonna Help My Sister Rise, Phoebe-Shot-This stood quietly behind her camera. There’s a particular kind of presence she carries, steady, non-intrusive, yet deeply attuned to the energy of the room
Phoebe knows what it means to stand in your power. That journey of knowing shapes how she works, how she sees, and how she holds space for others who have known what it feels like to be misread, underestimated, or pushed to the margins of their own story.
Seeing Differently
When you’ve had to rebuild yourself, you understand that being seen is not the same as being understood. Some will twist what they see to fit their own version of events.
Phoebe’s photography and videography do the opposite. Her lens reframes with dignity. She sees her subjects as whole people, with histories, futures, and agency. She takes the fragments that others might distort and rebuilds them into something truthful, unashamed, and unfiltered.
Holding Space Through the Camera
Her work with the Fight Forward cohort is more than documentation. It’s an act of solidarity.
From the grit of training sessions, sweat clinging to skin, breath coming heavy between round, to the high-octane heartbeat of fight night, Phoebe was there. She caught the half-second smiles exchanged between boxers, the tightening of hand wraps before the bell, the coaches leaning in with quiet words no one else could hear.
Phoebe doesn’t just take pictures or roll film. She holds space. Her lens becomes a shield against misinterpretation, a witness that says: this is who you are, and it is enough.
The Ripple Effect
I’ve been using Phoebe photographs as reference points in my current body of work. But it’s not just the stills, it’s the energy from her videos too. The way she captures movement, rhythm, and atmosphere has carried into my brushstrokes, into my compositions, into how I approach telling these stories on canvas.
Somewhere in this process, I feel a quiet presence, the kind of Self-Love that makes us stand taller, a repurposing, that takes the weight of what’s been lived and shapes it into something that stands taller and beautiful.
"Scientific research shows the intensive physical movement can shift trauma. Calcified memories, experiences and energy live in the body , and by doing something impactful or vigorous ,i tlittery shifts those emotions."
Why This Matters for All of Us
Being seen truthfully is a form of reclamation. Whether it’s through photography, film, painting, words, or movement, the act of being witnessed without distortion helps to undo the narratives that others might try to write for us.
Phoebe’s work is a reminder that we all have the power to hold space for someone else, to see them without judgement, without agenda.
Stepping Closer
If you’ve been following my journey of sisterhood, solidarity, and creative courage, there’s more to come, and I’d like you to be part of it from the start..
As always, thank you for walking with me through these reflections. May we continue to honour our stories, lift each other, and find joy in the journey.
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I’d also love to hear from you, what resonates with you in this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below and let’s keep the conversation alive.
Love, and Light Infinitely
Amja
Let Art Be Your Becoming