"once you said,
i love you.
then you slapped me,
you punched me,
you shouted at me,
you called me bitch.
you said,
i want to kill you.
i cried.
what is love?
i asked."
trailer: do you love yourself?
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Do you love yourself?
written and performed by Loredana Denicola
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"Do you love yourself?" is a 9-minute monologue, a part of the love, sex and relationships video-photographic documentation project.
I wrote this monologue during a "love" relationship with my ex-boyfriend, which eventually turned violent, evolving into psychological and emotional abuse. It emerged from a state of confusion, despair, anxiety, and the overwhelming sense of helplessness in the situation I was living in. My mind was filled with unanswered questions.
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The monologue delves into how we form our perception of reality and unconsciously create false illusions that we don't need, causing us suffering and pain. Many times, we are unaware of our psychological and emotional structure through the years. We may have grown up with violent or flawed parents who instilled false beliefs in us, making us feel unloved.
We grew up craving love, but not in a healthy way, leading to emotional dependency. But gaining control over one's live is possible.
It starts with us, with learning to love and respect ourselves.
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Photographs have power, stories have power.
Special thanks to Riccardo Sai for his assistance with video production (https://www.mistersai.uk) and to Luca Previtali for the exceptional video editing (https://www.lucaprevitali.com).
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