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- Convenors:
-
Sarah Hiepler
(University of Aberdeen)
Alice Cusan (University of Aberdeen)
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- Chairs:
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Arnar Árnason
(University of Aberdeen)
Fabio Gygi (SOAS, University of London)
Short Abstract:
What are the relationships between photography and the dead human body? Why might one photograph the dead and/or share these photos and with whom? How will we manage digital human remains in the future? How is the dead body given meaning through this technology?
Long Abstract:
As technology shapes ways of dying, disposal and memorialization, this panel asks: what are the relationships between photography and the dead human body? In what contexts does it take place and why?
Contemporary and emerging technologies are reshaping experiences of death, disposal and memorialisation. Many grieved the deaths of loved ones in digital spaces during COVID. Taking photos of the dead raises questions about managing and curating material/immaterial legacies and issues of consent and purpose.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 11 April, 2023, -Damiana Otoiu (SNSPA, Bucharest)
Paper short abstract:
In April 1996, the South African National Gallery organized an exhibition entitled "Miscast". It had generated a huge controversy regarding the representation of indigenous groups in museums: who has the right to expose anthropometric photographs and why?
Paper long abstract:
In April 1996, the South African National Gallery organized the exhibition entitled "Miscast. Negotiating Khoisan History and Material Culture", designed by artist Pippa Skotnes. By exposing anthropometric photographs, plaster casts and archival documents from several South African and European museums, the curator advanced the idea of museum collections as revealing colonial practices and political uses of anthropology. The exhibition was followed by a series of symposia and public forums (sometimes with up to 700 participants) where members of the communities represented in the exhibition had been invited to discuss various issues.
The exhibition "Miscast" had generated a huge scientific, artistic (and political) controversy on the representation of indigenous groups in museums: who has the right to expose physical anthropology specimens (human remains, anthropometric photographs, plaster casts) and why? How can museum professionals challenge the racial and ethnic labels, taxonomies, and classification systems inherited from colonial museology?
This paper proposal is based on about 17 months of anthropological fieldwork conducted in South Africa since 2014.
Sarah Hiepler (University of Aberdeen)
Paper short abstract:
Based on interviews with my informants, there is an assumption among museum staff that visitor photography of publicly displayed human remains is disrespectful behaviour. Not all photography of human remains in museums carried this same moral weight.
Paper long abstract:
During my fieldwork in museums in the UK, I noticed many curators conveyed concerns around photography of the dead. There seemed to be an underlying assumption that visitor photography of publicly displayed human remains is disrespectful behaviour. Not all photography of human remains in museums carried this same moral weight. This paper attempts to unravel how some photography, depending on purpose and positionality of the photographer, is understood as disrespectful while other forms of photography, including X-rays, scans, online collection object photos, "expand our understanding of the world and our shared humanity." The main ethnographic examples cited will be pulled from interviews conducted at the Ashmolean Museum, the Oriental Museum, the Anatomical Museum and The Egypt Centre.
Alice Cusan (University of Aberdeen)
Paper short abstract:
This paper analyses changes in the treatment of dead people from Covid-19, and how institutions have dealt with this change in "managing” death. It offers a discussion and a reflection on how the outbreak of Covid-19 impacted the healthcare systems of Italy and the United Kingdom.
Paper long abstract:
The outbreak of Covid-19 has strongly affected the Italian national healthcare system. The government faced challenges such as the exacerbation of the existing scarcity of hospital beds and the small number of healthcare professionals. The fear and doubts of both professionals and citizens regarding this new virus have questioned the Italian government too, especially when considering vaccination procedures. Covid-19 has affected how deceased people were treated, as new procedures were adopted to contain the spread of the virus. Alongside this, the death of people from Covid-19 has often been compared to violent deaths, capturing media attention. This paper offers a comparative analysis between the United Kingdom and Italy on the approaches used and opens the reflection on the new meanings and ways used by institutions ascribed to the concept of death.