Ante-mortem, 2018
single-channel video with sound
3 minutes 30 seconds

Inspired by human form and spirit, after reading studies of the experiments in 1901 by physician, Duncan MacDougall, who attempted to prove an afterlife by measuring and weighing a body in those last moments to see if the soul exists and has actual weight. These experiments popularized the concept that the soul has a physical weight, which measured as 21 grams at the moment of death.

Filmed primarily while on residency at Chateaux d’Orquevaux, in Champagne-Ardenne, France. The estate itself had an unusual presence, especially within the sections of the chateau that remained unrenovated. With its rich past, including its seizure by Nazi soldiers during the French occupation, forming a strong connection to history, with untold stories and rumours that further encouraged the ideas that surrounded MacDougall’s desire to prove the existence of an afterlife.

Ante-mortem, is an abstraction on the passage and passing of life, and what happens in those moments during death, a representation of this idea and our daily connectedness to spirits and the afterlife.

Ante-mortem was selected as a Finalist for HIDDEN Rookwood Flickering stone 2018.