Bound up Material

Bound up Material: Objects or material other than human remains that are in some way physically bound up or attached to them so to in effect be part of them. With my research I raise awareness of the existence of individuals who have died unnoticed and unidentified, people who are currently only acknowledged as a reference on a database. With no one to mourn or remember them, these individuals will fade from society’s consciousness. By referring to the belongings that unidentified individuals had with them at the point of their death, I directly connect to aspects of their individuality. This individuality within well-worn belongings is akin to identity in life as well as death. In death belongings have an increased poignancy every mark seems to have a story to tell. To loved ones these are precious items kept safe to remember times spent together, but when items are discovered with unidentified human remains the individuality of items is perhaps all we have available to us to suggest something of these individual lives.