Performative photography See you, 2022

fotopaber, arhiveerimiskarbid

“With my thesis work I want to emphasise the knowledge of death as in memento mori, which means “Remember that you die” in Latin and the knowledge that few people have, that their death is near. These people with a special knowledge would be, for example, terminally ill people. As a performative part of the work, the photo in the middle disappeared when I opened the box in front of the viewers. You could see the process only once. The act of disappearance is also to question your preconceived notions of photography. With my thesis I raise the question whether a photograph is still considered a photograph when it is not permanently fixed with chemical treatment, nor is it made visible for longevity. “See You” illustrates the paradoxical and continuous exchange between presence and absence. These images represent how the physical state has become a memory, visually depicting death and disappearance to remind the viewer of one’s own mortality. Taking a step closer to accepting death and the finality of life can give us the courage to live.”