As part of my exploration of borders as a source of conflict, I am looking at the moment between life and death.
I recently captured the trajectory of lead shot within ballistic soap at a firing range in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
The visualisation of the moment of impact captures for me both the before and after of death, and the briefest of moments between the two.
Lead is heavy and alludes to the weight of memory or responsibility. It is used to make bullets and is a poison.
In Kosovo after the war, many Roma were internally displaced. With none of the surrounding countries prepared to take them they were eventually placed within a ‘temporary’ refugee camp on a disused lead mine. Over 20 years later they are still there, slowly being poisoned by their surroundings.
The weight of memories within the minds of loved ones who have lost someone during conflict, who must replay that moment of death in their minds even if they do not actually know what happened to them. Never free.