Photographs puts people with visible differences in the frame

Katja Taits, 23, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, has Moebius Syndrome, external, a condition that causes facial paralysis.

She said growing up she did not experience bullying but struggled with other people’s misconceptions of what she was capable of.

“I would have sheets printed out with bigger writing for me and I was perfectly capable of reading normal size sheets,” she said.

“So as a teenager I was like, ‘Why am I treated so differently for no reason?’ It really frustrated me because I felt really singled out and I didn’t want to be.”

She said she had not always been entirely self-accepting, but had now reached a point in her life where “I kind of like the way I look”.

But, like Jono, she finds herself chatting to strangers in a bid to control interactions.

“It would be nice in the future if we didn’t all have to make such an effort to just sort of exist in public spaces and just be there without having people thinking, ‘What’s wrong with you?'” she said.

Photographer Ceridwen, from Mold in Flintshire, has a son with the same condition as Katja and runs non-profit group Same But Different.

Her exhibition can be seen in the latest edition of online magazine Rarity Life, external, but she would like to see images like these “sitting alongside every other image in exhibitions and galleries so that it’s the norm and not something that’s different”.

“It would be really nice if these sorts of projects weren’t needed, but at the moment unfortunately we still need to give a stronger voice to people who aren’t necessarily being seen every day,” she said.

When it comes to representation, Jono is feeling optimistic for the future.

“What excites me is that this generation here in 2024 is loving themselves, they’re celebrating themselves… saying, ‘This is me’ – they’re calling people out and making change,” he said.

“Every single one of us has all these beautiful, unique stamps across our bodies, our faces, our personalities and our characters and they need to be celebrated and not hidden.”