Documentary Photographer Lauren Rooney is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From her project ‘Death Interiors‘. To see Lauren’s gallery of projects click on any image.
‘The Mourning Interior’
These interiors aim to question the cultural associations of the Chapel of Rest. The interiors play a large role in the mourning process, rolling into several contexts; an interior crafted to alleviate pain; to create a lasting memory picture of the last time viewing a loved one.
There becomes so much more to theses interiors than the viewing of the dead body; but the decor, the lighting, the furniture, the atmosphere, the smell, the temperature, it all becomes an embodiment of the experience of viewing the dead. It becomes a part of the mourning experience, with the intimate moments of viewing the deceased for the last time before burial or cremation whether one realizes it or not a ‘memory picture’ of that time, space and place will be taken.
Furthermore, the way in which this space then becomes the selling point of the funeral home in the increasingly competitive market of death. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes but all begin to appear to have these apparent codes and conventions that make up the generic Chapel of Rest.
‘Behind Deaths Doors’
An insight into what is behind the doors of the funeral home, commenting upon the juxtaposition between the stillness of the interiors with the stilling of life and death. As well as the acknowledgement of it being an ‘Official space’ that is dominated by professional clinical activity and regulated by procedures.
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By Lauren Rooney