Category: phd work

The cushion here contains examples of the belongings found with ‘Winchester Man’ a male between 35 to 50 years old. He was found deceased in a barn and had lain undiscovered for 5 years.

At the point of death, belongings or clothes that helped convey social identity in life, are transformed from a state of mundane daily use to one where the items take on a greater poignancy. They are imbued with the essence of the absent person, almost becoming them. When a loved one dies the living are left with belongings as a way of remembering through touch. They provide a means by which memories of that living body can be generated. However, when an individual is unknown, I suggest that the individuality of the person in life can be drawn from the belongings left.

Discomfort aims to shed light on the existence of individuals who have passed away unidentified. By focusing on their belongings I directly tap into facets of their individuality. These belongings and clothing directly and indirectly represent both people’s bodies and their identities.

This cushion provides no comfort to anyone and if discarded onto the floor, or unnoticed directly references the treatment of many individuals who become dislocated from society leading to a lack of identity.

During the exhibition, i continued to visit the space to see where ‘Discomfort’ was and the reaction of people who were sat nearby to it. I had some amazing conversations about it and the context of it in relation to a social space like Common Ground. During one conversation, an individual expressed a similarity to the death of his uncle who had died on the matterhorn. His body had been cremated on the mountain but his belongings had been given back to the family and there was a poignancy to these items, including tickets to an event that he never managed to attend.

Dimensions – 26″ x 21″

• https://www.hampshire.police.uk/news/hampshire/news/appeals/2023/december/police-re-appeal-to-identify-man-after-remains-found-in-micheldever-in-2017/
• https://locate.international/unidentified-people/hampshire-barn-man
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-67591268
• https://news.sky.com/story/key-to-solving-mystery-of-remains-found-in-hampshire-barn-lies-in-france-after-bones-analysed-13020404

Social Identity can be described as our individual sense of who we are in relation to others around us. Psychologist Henri Tajfel introduced the concept that categorising people in relation to ourselves is a natural cognitive process. The notion of “Us versus Them,” in its most basic form, is a common occurrence in daily life. However, when taken to an extreme, this theory can lead to significantly more prejudiced attitudes between cultures, social groups, minority groups, and ethnic groups, among others. In his paper titled “Us and Them: Identity and Genocide” (Moshman 2007), David Moshman argues that genocide represents an extreme consequence of these typical identity processes.

Moshman’s argument aims to explore the path of thought from a normal self-perception to an extreme social dichotomisation “Us vs. Them” mindset, and his perception of the stages of this are as follows:

Social Identity: The initial understanding of oneself in relation to a diverse array of people and groups.
Dichotomisation: This involves a narrowing of an individual’s self-understanding while placing more emphasis on one aspect of differentiation.
Dehumanisation: Taking the narrowing of differentiation to actively stigmatise or, in extreme cases, dehumanise individuals or groups.
Destruction: This stage entails the complete annihilation of individuals based on their identities and the perception of the “other” as less than human.
Denial: Denial is a routine element of genocide, as it serves as a continuation of dehumanising victims. Inaction can also be considered a form of denial, where society avoids investigating what it prefers not to know.

These stages can be observed in the trajectory of genocide and atrocities. However, it is equally intriguing to consider how these stages manifest in cases of unacknowledged domestic deaths. For instance, asylum seekers denied asylum, undocumented migrants, the homeless, and the destitute all commence their lives with a broad social identity. However, as time passes, they often become dichotomised, reduced to a narrow niche identity by the broader community, only focusing on one aspect of their existence. This subsequently leads to dehumanisation, exclusion from society, and precarious living situations, such as sleeping rough. These individuals become “othered” by society and estranged from their families and friends, rendering them vulnerable and at risk of dying alone. Due to such extreme social exclusion, it may not always be possible to identify these individuals in death.

In my piece ‘The Other Side’ I explore aspects of social dichotomisation through the publication of a tabloid size newspaper that highlights a series of comments I received online. One side of the paper explores the extreme negative comments received and the other side explores the extreme positive comments I received. Both sides explore a narrow idea of who I am and in many cases what was said did not need to be said at all. Name-calling, demeaning behaviour and derogatory remarks, have become prevalent within online discussions and this behaviour begins a process of social dichotomisation.

You can buy a copy here

(var kwebonekesya) v – appear, come into sight, be found – Kinyarwanda Rwandan language

Water has perpetually endured on Earth in a constant quantity. It forms a substantial part of the composition of all living organisms. Water, as it evaporates, becomes an intangible component of the atmosphere, an ethereal presence that envelops us ceaselessly.

In this particular work, I delve into concepts of presence and absence within the locations where the Tutsi experienced unspeakable atrocities during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The utilisation of a vacant piece of clothing and a mist of sprayed water that subsequently dissipates into the surrounding air beckons us to scrutinise our notions regarding the presence and absence of those who tragically lost their lives in those places.

Found clay, charcoal

Using clay from the sites of unidentified deaths, I am exploring a remaining presence with absence after death. Cloth, clothing and belongings have a poignancy after death that in life were simply every day objects.

I am referencing archaeological grave goods here especially those that show bodily impressions from finger nails or fingerprints.

Bound up Material: Objects or material other than human remains that are in some way physically bound up or attached to them so to in effect be part of them. 

British Museum – Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums

My research stems from a prior project during my undergraduate and master’s studies, which delved into the issue of unidentified deceased individuals within mass graves, with a primary focus on the Former Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Following the conflict in Bosnia, Interpol made a profound declaration: “the right of human beings not to lose their identity after death.” This statement ignited my contemplation of the right to identity for those individuals who cannot be scientifically “identified.” While it’s commonly assumed that science can always provide identification, it’s important to acknowledge the limitations. DNA is only effective when there’s a reference sample to match against, fingerprints rely on pre-existing records, and documents can establish identity only if available at the time of death.

For my practice-based PhD, I sought to explore cases of unidentified deaths closer to my own context. Leveraging the missing persons database, I examined clothing, personal belongings, and location as means of individualisation. In life, we express our identity through our possessions and attire. Clothes and shoes, in particular, serve as vessels that evoke memories of their owners. In the realm of forensic identification, clothing often serves as the initial step in the process.

Through my artistic practice, I’ve generated an ongoing body of work that grapples with the recognition of unidentified deceased individuals. I employed gelatine bioplastic, a biodegradable material that gradually disintegrates in the environment, much like human bodies do. This choice references the fragility of deceased bodies in their surroundings and embodies the idea of something missing, barely present. The material possesses a ghostly quality that physically encapsulates the notion of absence.

My research aims to shed light on the existence of individuals who have passed away unnoticed, individuals whose sole acknowledgment lies in a database reference. With no one to mourn or remember them, these individuals risk fading from society’s collective memory. By focusing on the belongings found with unidentified individuals at the time of their death, I directly tap into facets of their individuality. The individuality imbued within well-worn possessions mirrors the concept of identity, both in life and death. In death, these belongings acquire heightened poignancy, where every mark seems to tell a story. To loved ones, these items hold precious memories of time spent together. However, when these items are discovered with unidentified human remains, they become our sole connection to the lives these individuals once led.