Disposal

"The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity – designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny of man." – Ernest Becker

In my dissertation on post mortem photography, I researched the way in which death has been dealt with historically. At the end of the nineteenth century, death was generally kept within the confines of the private home; it was the role of family members to take care of the deceased until burial. It was not until the American Civil War that embalming became more common, producing a small industry of professionals who undertook this job. Since then, death has been moved further and further away from the family and the home, enforcing the difficulty in accepting death.

This project is not about the event of death itself, but my response to the process that occurs after the event. My photographs have been taken on two sites; the premises of a funeral director and a recently built crematorium. As such, the focus of the work is on cremation rather than burial. Cremation, to me, is a much more complex choice than burial, because one actually ceases to exist in human form – it is the complete extinguishing of a physical self.

My aim is not to shock or provoke controversy, as I don't believe that the images I have produced should be shocking. Death was previously another part of life, and handled accordingly. It is because the after-care of the deceased is now handed over to private businesses, councils and other organisations that many people may feel detached and alienated from the system that is in place. From my experience of these places, I cannot help but feel that the level of involvement the family and friends of the deceased have in the care of their loved ones, post mortem, can only serve to isolate them in their grief. This is in no way a criticism of these organisations; they do a very difficult job in a very efficient manner. It is merely an observation of the way society has developed its attitude towards how death is processed over the last century.

Apprehension, fear and ignorance abound regarding what happens to the body after death. Through the photographs I wish to present an objective view, which demystifies the seldom seen spaces in which the processes occur – from preparation rooms to the machinery of cremation.