An installation telling the stories of male survivors of sexual abuse is expected to help other men open up about their own trauma.

The Bristlecone Project exhibition, featuring black-and-white photographs of 24 New Zealand men abused in childhood, opens at Canterbury Museum on Monday.

"People have been trying to hide this for so long, and now it's going to be in the public's face," said Ken Clearwater, manager of the Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust.

"We're taking the lid off a can of worms and throwing the lid away. We've been carrying this shame and guilt for so long, it's time people understand the damage it does."

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