Art to Honor Lost Children

The artist Asher has a knack for capturing unexpected beauty in the graveyard. He’s been photographing in these sites for years, with some results that have even surprised him. Today, we are lucky enough to have the opportunity to share some pieces from the collection Toy Box, as well as offer you the chance for a conversation with the artist.

As he mentions below, the subjects of the Toy Box photos are perplexing to him, and he presents them to us as a question. Take the time to browse the photos, and the entire collection at the artist’s site, and offer your thoughts to the questions he poses below.

From the artist:

I began shooting photos in graveyards for a variety of reasons. Partly history, partly gothic design, they presented as great places to shoot. But, I quickly began to focus on a few specific elements: statuary, fake flowers, and toys. This latter memento mori was a rarity but one that would stop me in my tracks each time I found one.

For every five graveyards I visit I find a single stuffed toy on the grave of a child. Each time I am left wondering who put them here and why. I understand memorials, somewhat. People are left with a hollow spot and they want a permanent fixture for themselves and for other people to have a look at, to go to, to spend a moment and pause to recall that life. But, for such an impermanent thing as a stuffed animal left on a grave seems a strange memorial. These are left behind, exposed to the elements and decaying. There’s a certain morose irony in the fact that they are emulating the very event they commemorate. And I cannot understand why.

So I ask:

Why are these fragile toys left on the graves of the children? Why does no one come back to remove them? What honor and memorial does this present to the family? And what is it supposed to present to us?

Photos courtesy of the artist.