I think it is important to relate photography to death and to be able to explain it. Roland Barthes (literary critic and language philosopher) has written several books, including the book Camera Lucida. In that book, he explained how photography, death and grief work together. Each photo is layered and contains a message because the photographer is always related to the subject. The book can be seen as an adaptation in response to the death of his mother and my father, but at the same time it is an investigation into the nature and essence of photography.

Barthes’ theory has shown me where my fascination for death and grief comes from. In my dissertation I investigate whether his theory can test against the work of other photographers who fascinate me and in my own work.
The reason is that I am always attracted to often dark melancholic photography such as that of the Belgian photos Dirk Braeckman and Jan Rosseel, and the Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase. I wanted to know if memory and sadness play a role in their work and how I could interpret that as a spectator. As a maker I want to know how great the role of memory plays and also in my own photography. To answer my question, I use Roland Barthes’ theory and test these photographers in the form of case studies. I investigate who they are as a person and as a photographer and whether they share the same fascination.

During the KABK I had to search a lot for my own recognizable identity, both personally and professionally, my images can visually differ a lot, but afterwards there was often an underlying similarity such as death, my deceased father, memory and sadness. The whole process of writing this thesis made me aware of my own memories and fears, and especially gave me insight into why I photograph.