The texture of memory : investigating the aesthetic and ethical decisions that transform collective memory, narrative and imagery into a fine art visual anthropology

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore and examine the visual inputs that drive the photographer to make the aesthetic and ethical decisions that define visual anthropology and social photographic documentary as a fine art. It is a study of the fine line that distinguishes reality from fiction, the relations between subject and photographer and the ethical implications when dealing with sometimes fragile and deeply personal life stories. It is an attempt at the release of embodied memories, a study of the effects of their transience, and the attempt at a temporary revival of specific moments in the lives of an ageing population that was, in the majority, conditioned by social and economic conditions. The findings are the result of photographic and video research together with on-site interviews that I undertook with a section of the ageing population of Birgu. What started off as an accidental encounter developed into a visual and textual study of rich narratives and of the effects of memory on modern society.