This art practice-based PhD project explores the fundamental question facing all of those who live, yet one which many feel unable to address – how do we talk about death?
The central focus of this PhD project is to examine the language used in discussions of death and consider how this can be developed or altered to provide a more open and active engagament. Through the production of a series of artworks I wish to create spaces and experiences which allow people to approach death and engage with their related fears from new perspectives.
The research is developing through interviews and field recordings in both in Denmark and Switzerland in palliative departments and in private homes. These conversations, observations and experiences are the material from which I am creating a whole new series of works. In these new works I am specifically interested in the role of non-medical care, such as the use of dog therapy, sound therapy and envirioments for empathy.
In exploring embodied ways of gathering and producing knowledge, I have trained to become a “Death Doula” myself during the reseach. Here I am learning about the language and the non-medical working methods being used in palliative care. “Death Doula”, also called “End of Life Doula”, is someone who supports a terminally ill person through creating environments for empathy, active listening and non verbal communication.