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September 12th – 27th
Since the dawn of civilization, in all cultures and societies, death means an ending. It accompanies us throughout our lives, it is unbiased, and its power is undeniable. It is exactly its power because of which it is usually displayed in various, mostly creepy, shapes and forms in literature, religion and art. Although it does not seem that way at first sight, the notion of death is terrifying to a modern man for many reasons, and his perception of life is completely dislocated. One of our ideals is the eternal youth. In other words, the essence of life is neither to live, nor to glance at the watch, nor to count the days, nor to await something, but to make time stop or at least slow down. All of this is followed by a fact that millions of cosmetic surgeries and treatments are undertaken annually all around the world. The removal of “flaws” or various genetic researches in laboratories are just a cover behind which the attempt to slow down or to stop the last stage in our lives is hidden; on the other hand, the absurdity and the irony of these and other obsessions and ideals related to death, youth, time and life is that our civilization, whether in a personal or socio-cultural respect, can not imagine life without photography. It is exactly what constantly reminds us of the transience and the end from the first day of its and our existence. Susan Sontag says: “All photographs are memento mori. To take a photo means to participate in mortality, vulnerablity and changeability of another person (or thing). All photographs testify to the relentless melting of time, just by cutting out this moment and freezing it.”
Text: Jelena Matić
Photo: N. Ivanović