Within the photo archive of the dead are images that travel. Out of the hundreds of images of the deceased that might exist, a single portrait may come to serve as the one that the bereaved person takes with them whenever they travel. The physicality of that image is important. A smart phone which goes with a bereaved person everywhere could contain a wealth of different images of their loved-one, but a single tactile photograph – whether it be a pocket-size passport photo, a locket around the neck, or a slightly tattered holiday snap – can belong to them in a way that the widely distributed and ephemeral digital image cannot. The printed-out photo can travel with – rather than independently of – the bereaved person, providing a focus for grief.
Travel
