Meet Hepburn. They are me, underneath it all.
DR. DAM, PhD., MSt.(Oxon)
Art, Death, Living, Dying, are all connected. I’m fascinated by what we can learn about ourselves when we take the time to look at how we humans have cared for our dead.
Raffaello Romanelli, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest
WHY ART + DEATH
I have always been drawn to the edges of our world. Art is a place to explore taboos, the ‘don’t speak of this’ ideas, and the uncomfortable and the unfamiliar objects left behind by our ancestors.
My wayfaring over the years has led me here: exploring relationships between visual representations of life and death and supporting people who engage with them.
LOOKING TO THE PAST TO UNDERSTAND TODAY
Western Society is paralyzed by the ideas of Death. Individually we are silenced by societal expectations that view genuine conversations about what happens after life as unseemly, improper, and unacceptable. It’s as if we were to speak of Death, it will come. I believe that unspoken ideas hold power through fear. I want us to be bold, courageous, and be emboldened by talking about living, and dying. And a good place to begin is in pictures…
“Just as talking about sex won’t make you pregnant, talking about death won’t make you dead”
Jon Underwood
LET’S TALK ABOUT DEATH
If you have any questions or ideas for discussion or are interested in my Wayfaring services please SHARE HERE! Send me an email – click the contact button below
I began photographing my kid’s skeleton they got from their grandmother as a way to explore death through visuals. As a former photography major, and current photographic practices academic/researcher and certified Death Doula, I thought putting those skills together would help me and others examine our fears, anxieties, questions, and beliefs about living, dying and death. I began showing them on Instagram @dr.damart. After awhile I was told to get my own skeleton – so started an ongoing collection of skeletons: First Hepburn, then Thana; now I proudly own beautiful morbid works by www.caitlintmccormack.com, a lovely handcrafted local piece that is a coffin with snake and spider skeletons, and over the years such kind students have shared their expressions. I recently bought a piece from @j.danversstudio (check them out on Instagram).