"TO THE DEPARTED"
This body of work examines the cultural and symbolic languages of remembrance through visual form. It originated from a photograph of flowers placed on my parents’ graves — an image that prompted reflection on how memory is enacted and materialized across faiths and traditions. Rather than illustrating tombstones, the work centers on gestures of remembrance: the offering of flowers, the placing of stones, the lighting of candles, and other rituals that mark the continuity between presence and absence.
Across religions, these acts embody different yet interconnected ideas. In Judaism, the stone placed on a grave signifies permanence; in Islam, simplicity in burial reflects humility before God; in Buddhism, cremation speaks to the impermanence of life; and in Christianity, the cross evokes the promise of resurrection. Domestic rituals, such as Día de los Muertos altars in Mexico or ancestral shrines in many parts of Asia, extend these practices into everyday spaces, merging the sacred and the domestic while reaffirming the ongoing relationship between the living and the dead.
The project also considers remembrance in the context of artistic legacy. Cemeteries such as Père Lachaise in Paris preserve the memory of artists, writers, and musicians through monumental forms, yet countless others who contributed to cultural life remain unacknowledged. This tension between visibility and erasure raises questions about how creative labor is remembered, valued, or forgotten over time.
Ultimately, the work proposes that remembrance may not reside solely in physical monuments or institutional recognition, but rather in the quieter, enduring traces of empathy, creativity, and care that persist beyond individual lives.