It Begins and Ends with an Image: Reflections on Life/Death across Autobiography and Visual Culture

In: Anthropological journal of European cultures: AJEC, Band 31, Heft 1, S. 72-87

Abstract

A three-act session of storytelling, this visual essay explores the connection between photographs (and images at large) and death. A piece of authobiography, it follows the intimate journey of the author accompanying his father's departure first and his own grief later. The article positions photographs as objects that are more than mere representations. They are living things that accompany us during our lives. And photography, the author suggests by looking at photographs taken by himself, is a way for opening up time and acknowledging the present. Photographs are capable of bridging the gap between life and death.