R.I.PDo we really

mean it?

Photography and memorial

• It was common place in the Victorian era to photograph the dead with their family members along side, this is thought to be one of the earliest forms of memorials - Are all photographs a form of memorial?

• All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.” ― Susan Sontag

Old MemorialsThe grey concrete style of the traditional memorials create a dominating presence. This almost commands that you remember and have respect. The fact that they are so public and large means that you cannot avoid them. They are there to be seen.

Psychology

• The need to be seen to mark an event that is common and apparently universal in the face of chaos and loss

• “We have all seen roadside crosses or flowers marking the scene of accidents, or front yard displays of concern and grief for families suffering a loss. Communities sometimes gather at specific places and leave personal messages of hope or healing. All these are very important and remind me again of the need for something tangible, visible and concrete in times of trauma and loss.”

• Joan Phillips, 13/01/2011

New MovementAfter the horrors of Cromwell Street stopped being headline news, the people petitioned for the removal of the house as they felt it was a dark shadow in the community, and they wanted not to be reminded of the horrors on their doorstep.

Lloyd WolfPhotographer

He documents homemade shrines to murder victims, and is compelled by their heartfelt vibrancy, sadness and all-too-common presence. It is a manifestation of a secret, yet highly visible wounded heart of a community. Shrines call to notice, to remember, to be aware- and hopefully, to act.

http://lloydwolfphoto.blogspot.co.uk/

The angle of which this photograph (Left) was taken shows how large of scale this memorial is. He has done this by taking the shot to lead the eye through a line. This give us a feel that the memorial is on going. Giving the feel that there is more to this than the photograph suggests.

The article we think would not look out of place in a Sunday supplement for something like The Times or Telegraph

Food for thought• Is our need to mark an event for the people who

have died, or for us?

• Are we scared of our own mortality that we need to mark others existence in the world?