Endline
Deathcare During
Melbourne’s Covid Crisis
The Covid pandemic introduced us to ‘frontline’ workers—those who keep us safe and healthy in trying times—but there has been far less attention paid to people working on the ‘endline’, caring for the dying, dead, and bereaved. The people who labour in this field are just as important. They uphold the dignity of the dead, care for the emotional, cultural and spiritual needs of the bereaved, and protect the health of our community. This photo project aims to give them the recognition they deserve.
Endline will be exhibited at 75 Reid Street Auditorium, 27th October - 29th October 2022, in combination with the Redesigning Deathcare Conference. You can register to attend the Opening Night here.
Endline is a photo series by Bri Hammond, created in collaboration with the researchers Hannah Gould and Samuel Holleran. It pays tribute to the diverse people who work in deathcare, from palliative care clinicians and funeral directors, to morticians, religious celebrants, crematoria operators, and cemetery staff.
While restrictions on funerals has highlighted concerns about memorialisation during the ongoing Covid crisis, the daily labour of end-of-life professionals has gone largely uncredited. This series takes the audience into the ‘backstage’ of deathcare, a sector that is mostly hidden from public view and is often stigmatised. In intimate portraits and in the small details of working environments, these images reveal death work to be an essential service and a practice of care, not only for the dying and dead, but also for the bereaved and the wider community.
Endline will be issued as a photo book accompanied by essays. Those interested in getting a copy can sign up here.
