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Nelly Ating

Nelly Ating is a visual artist who focuses on identity, education, extremism, and migration questions. As a
documentary artist, her work has been published in local dailies in Nigeria and legacy media such as the BBC
and CNN. Her photographic work documenting the rise of Boko Haram terrorism between 2014 and 2020 in
Northeast Nigeria shone a light on the aftermath of violent extremism. Ating has exhibited at galleries and
photographic festivals in Africa, Europe, and the US, as well as judged photography competitions such as
African Women in Media (AWiM) and Ugandan Press Photo Awards. She was recently selected to participate in
the New York University (NYU) Global Artists Convening 2022 to engage in a civic dialogue on art and social
justice. She is a member of Women Photograph, Black Women Photographers, African Women in Photography,
the Journal Collective, and the African Database for Photojournalists run by the World Press Photo. She is
currently a PhD candidate at Cardiff University. Her research interests include critical human rights activism
and advocacy advances, African social movements, visual culture, contemporary photography, and the
decolonization of transnational humanitarian visual campaigns.

Surviving PCOS 4, 2020
This project examines the impact of COVID-19 on women's reproductive health. The changing nature of moods and constant emotional regulation associated with
female's reproductive health. During the Coronavirus lockdown wave in March 2020, I learnt I had been suffering from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).
Premenstrual dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a condition in which a woman has severe depression symptoms, irritability, and tension before menstruation. According to
research from Harvard, about 15% of women with PMDD attempt suicide. The loneliness from COVID-19 affected my everyday life; I was dealing with severe anxiety. I
found solace in distracting myself by seeing my emotions through the images I created. More so, this experience changed how I talked about my body. I began
documenting the phases of anxiety but with so much kindness, grace, and self-love. When I shared this project online, many women expressed similar symptoms. In those
moments, I documented myself. I learned how to self-regulate my emotions, continue paying attention to my stress level, and appreciate my body as a force for Mother
Nature.

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