Invisible Worlds: The Interplay of Photography, Death, and Commemoration

Blight, Laura ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1534-6270 (2024) Invisible Worlds: The Interplay of Photography, Death, and Commemoration. In: DeathXDesignXCulture, 4th-6th September 2024, Falmouth University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract / Summary

This conference presentation aims to explore the transformative potential of visual media in reimagining cultural approaches to death and grief through alternative storytelling. The presentation aims to challenge conventional commemorative practices and disposal rituals by examining how visual media can reshape perceptions of death, memory, and existence. By focusing on traces of human activity, my research investigates our connection between the visible and invisible realms of human experience.

The research draws on visual media including photography and AI driven grief tech, philosophy, anthropology and cultural studies of ritualistic practices. It involves creating visual narratives that explore death and commemoration through only traces of human activity. The research process engages with both individual and community rituals, investigating how visual media can be used to navigate visible and invisible realms.

Photography allows us to make sense of the world and our experiences beyond what is visible. Photography not only allows us to see what is present within an image but also what is absent. Domestic settings and personalised interior spaces become emotional realms of mourning and remembrance. Some of the questions that emerged from my research include - ‘How will the disconnection from the materiality of death impact the way we grieve and remember? What impact will AI driven grief tech have in our ability to recall and process our experiences of death? And how will AI shift our attitudes to the changing culture of death?

The output of this research is a presentation titled ‘Invisible Worlds: The Interplay of Photography’. The conference is titled ‘Death X Design X Culture - ‘Radical Reimagining's for the End of Life and was hosted by the Department for Graphic Design at Falmouth University between 4th-6th September 2024. The conference was in partnership with Stamps School of Art & Design, University of Michigan and the Glasgow End of Life Studies group, University of Glasgow.

The significance of the research lies in its potential to offer a more holistic and spiritually resonant perspective on death, one that transcends conventional practices. The research addresses ‘radical reimagining to the end of life’ considering how the concept of what it means to be alive or dead could blur, with technology creating new ways to interact with memories and even digital remnants of the deceased.

How does the integration of photographic images into both physical and digital death rituals challenge the traditional material boundaries between life and death, and what does this mean for our understanding of the afterlife?

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