The fossils, the ashes and other remains of existence
Dafni Melidou
The fossils, the ashes and other remains of existence (2021) is a work visualizing the complexity and the many different stages of experiencing loss. It aims to open up an unusual ontological dimension of the way we understand death through our connections to physical objects and the active involvement in the photographic event.
The project emerged from a personal trauma - the loss of my father, and my urgency to accept the incompleteness a death brings. Arriving back home several days after his death due to COVID19 restrictions, I decided to spend several days in his house as his presence still felt very strong. By using only what was available to me in his 64m2 apartment I started creating surreal situations that would serve later as our last (prosthetic) memories together. Through this active engagement in the process, photography became a tool for post-traumatic healing. The outcome is a posthumous exploration together with an incorporeal protagonist that signifies at the same time presence and absence. Considering photography's inherent power to preserve things in a visual way, we are conditioned to believe in a photograph as it encapsulates the notion of "truth". Through this work I extrapolate this subjectivity in a supernatural space and time. By using photography as a tool for creating evidence I construct paradoxical situations. My father's house serves as a connection between the physical and the meta-physical world, a liminal space for experimentation. His favorite objects occupy the space and take on new meaning. Organic materials on the verge of their decay are physically incorporated into the images. And the body becomes a carrier of imprinted childhood memories. In the end everything is documented and photographed as artefacts to ensure continuation. The result is a meticulously fabricated microcosm of human and non-human remains.
Dafni Melidou (b. 1990, Greece) is a visual artist whose multidisciplinary practice combines research, photography, writing and multi-media experimentation. Coming from a scientific background her working and research methods are versatile, and she approaches her projects from many angles. She works with her own photographs, found images, tactile materials and smells, often re-appropriated and constructed into new constellations, shapes or forms.
Melidou's experimental works start with her daily encounters of events in the mass media and her personal observations. Her themes center around gender and social injustices, the complexities of representation and our conflicting perception of reality. A common thread in her work is the understanding of materiality and the physical world in a digital age. Her fascination lies with creating non-conclusive and often confusing stories that call for an open interpretation and invite the viewers to re-think dominant
media narratives.
Melidou holds a B.A. in Chemistry, a M.Sc. in Food Science and she is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Photography & Society at The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK). In 2021 she co-founded cartographydigest.com, an experimental visual platform aiming to stretch the boundaries of photography and map new territories. She is currently based between Rotterdam and Athens.