The past is rotting in the future: Exploring the Aesthetics of Absence in the daily life
(2024)
author(s): Alexandra Corcode
published in: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
The Past is Rotting in the Future: Exploring the
Aesthetics of Absence in Daily Life, embarks on an
exploration of absence within the human daily life, examining
its manifestation through relations, processes,
and objects. It seeks to understand how absence is not
merely a void but a significant presence that shapes perception,
memory, and imagination. Through a multi-disciplinary
approach that integrates personal narrative with
academic writing, this research investigates the ways
in which absence is performed, textured, and materialized.
Central to the thesis is how photography, as both a
personal and artistic practice, serves as a critical medium
for discussing and visualizing absence, navigating
through personal experiences of loss, and broader philosophical
questions about how absence influences and
constitutes our understanding of the world.