JOANA DIONISIO: AND THE SHAPE OF THINGS DISAPPEARED FOR AWHILE

































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How man relates to death has been changing over time. If in the Middle Ages human finitude was experienced with familiarity, in the 20th century it became a kind of non-event ́.

In a society marked by the desire to prolong youth to infinity, the representation of the end of a life cycle is seen as a failure and therefore should be avoided. However, if we cannot set the limits of our own life, how can we connect to it and to ourselves? This project resulted from the opposition of feelings that arose after my father’s death and that forced me to think about the limitations of human existence. It seeks to reflect on how we deal with the loss of someone close to us, and with the perception of our finitude.

Considering that these concepts are materialised using a practice that immortalises life by its representation, what does it mean for photography to portray the absence of its reference, and what is the role of photography in the experiences of mourning? Through a narrative between opposing and complementary forces, between what is present and what is absent, reality and fiction, between here and there, there is a broader vision of our sense of being. Perhaps, somewhere between the fluctuation of becoming aware of our own mortality and the desire to be immortal we can find an opportunity to live deeply.


To see more work by Joana Dionisio, visit - Website / Instagram


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