Artist's Statement - Sense of space

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'Sense of Space' is a photographic research project that explores notions of fear in relation to places of death.

Rural environments gave access to death and birth. Urbanisation reverses this process. The duty of death is placed else where, therefore the process is removed from personal observation of individuals. Instead of providing positive images, western culture has chosen to reinforce fearful meanings of death. Cemeteries are portrayed as eerie, funeral homes are to be avoided, and morgues are scary places you would not wish to visit. (Michael R. Lemming, Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement)

My aim was to photograph spaces with minimal subjectivity, and represent these emotively charged spaces, with concentration on photographing without distortion. With this project I wanted to display what is visually hidden and challenge peoples perception of space in relation to death.

For me, photography is a visual art for exploring and understanding, for myself and ultimately for the audience. I feel I have a responsibility within photography to visually communicate that of which we do not usually see, to show others the unusual.

Madelyn Benn, 2003