THE MORE YOU KNOW
SCARF, Sarah Pulling (Bear Hunt Photography), and individuals from the SCARF community have collaborated to produce ‘The More You Know‘: a series of photo essays featuring individuals from refugee backgrounds living in the Illawarra.
Accompanying these photographs are stories told by these people – about their own lives, experiences, the world and everything in between.
‘The More You Know‘ was borne out of a desire to share stories of individuals from refugee backgrounds that represent them as diverse and multi-dimensional people with lives and identities outside of their refugee experience.
While we recognise that it’s impossible to capture the depth and complexity of a person in their totality, we’re hoping to share stories that edge a little closer toward this, and a little further away from narratives that are singular and reductive.
Our theory is that by sharing stories that show people in all of their expansive ‘human-ness’, we’re inviting readers to connect in a way that’s authentic and felt. Because when we’re connected, we open ourselves up to empathy, kindness and all the other things that make living exceptional.
It is our pleasure to share with you stories and photos of individuals and families in the SCARF community. In our interviews, we tried to clear a space for the subjects to lead their stories in the direction they felt they needed or wanted to. This approach removed limitations and brought forth stories and anecdotes that are as diverse and real as the wonderful people we interviewed.
