The aesthetic of Suicide

The conceptual framework of this project centers on the theme of suicide, explored through diverse cultural perspectives and artistic interpretations, encompassing a range of mediums, from photography to literature. Culturally, the project examines the treatment of suicide within Mayan, Hindu, and Japanese traditions, where it is sometimes viewed as an honorable act, a sacrifice of the self for a perceived greater purpose. The photographic element is represented by Florian Amoser's "Quantified Landscape," an ongoing research project investigating the photographic transposition of spatial dimensions onto a two-dimensional plane. Amoser's black and white landscapes consistently feature a dark void or aperture. This visual motif is intended to be linked to the notion of the inherent impossibility of suicide itself, a concept explored by the writer Simón Critchley in his work, "Notes on Suicide." Critchley's essay encourages a philosophical engagement with the acceptance of mortality, framing the voids and lines in Amoser's photographs as suggestive of a past existence that has concluded but may imply a subsequent genesis. The definitive nature of this ending, according to Critchley, underpins our freedom. He posits that "the ability to commit suicide is what identifies us, at least partially, as humans." However, "Notes on Suicide" is not an endorsement of suicide but rather a confrontation with a cultural taboo, aiming to "open a space to think about suicide as a free act that should not be the object of moral revulsion or quietly condemned." The essay critically analyzes the conflation of suicide with homicide in terrorist acts and the portrayal of suicide as an irrational act of faith. Designer @velvettuisecoinin Model: @histeria_wolf Harness:@irialageatelier

Works: 4