I recently attended a beautiful wedding. The bride and groom had acknowledged the absence of deceased family members by creating a space for photographs of them to be displayed at the reception.
One of the regular conversations I have with people is about sentimental or emotional digital legacy. The photographs that remain on a person’s Facebook or Instagram account after they have died, sometimes trigger powerful emotions, which can be both helpful and also distressing to the bereaved. I acknowledge that opinion is divided on what is best for those who are grieving the loss of a family member or friend, but to see the photographs incorporated into the wedding celebration, seemed to permit grief to be present, not hidden.
The Loved&Lost Project that Simon Bray is leading, uses photography in a slightly different way to address grief. Simon is allowing people to work through their emotions by revisiting special memories though favourite photographs. In revisiting locations where someone is pictured with the person who has died he uses imagery to start a conversation about loss, and by taking a new photograph in the same location.
What do you think about these two ideas?
Loved and Lost
