The End: A Study about Guilt and Irreversibility.
After a series of subsequent strokes my mother stayed a long time in hospitals and homes. She lost her ability to speak coherently. As communication became increasingly challenging, hallucinations began to replace her reality.
This marked the end.
As it approached, my guilt intensified, and I found myself at the center of her ongoing nightmare. I merged one of her recurring hallucinations - a head on a tray - with her past favorite pastimes: gastronomy and medieval and baroque art. I translated it into a triptych photocollage (three vertical parts on dibond).
After each visit, I documented everything she had said to me. I compiled all the phrases that she had spoken during the last year of her life into a long surreal narrative or poem. It is projected onto a wall next to the triptych, with a typography that emphasizes the incongruity of her words.
An angel statue, artificial plants, and church chandeliers complete this setting.
The first image is the photo collage (triptych). The second image shows an exhibition view of the full installation in a historic location. The third image shows the angel statue and the projection from another exhibition view where the walls were simply white.
This installation is available in both French and English. The images show the French version, while the video displays a fragment of the English version of the projected file (just the phrases).
