Reality of Grief and Loss

Without a trace
Credit: ellenjantzen.com

Through her photography, Ellen Jantzen investigates the experiences of grief and loss. In photographs of her husband situated in various settings, she blurs out her husband’s image, leaving an empty presence on which the viewer projects his or her own personal experience. Ellen Jantzen’s images reflect all faces of grief and loss, not just those that are catastrophic and in the public eye, such as the World Trade Center or other tragic plane crashes. She sympathizes with the everyday losses we do not read about.

Inheritance
Credit: ellenjantzen.com

Through their diverse settings, Jantzen’s photographs address the plethora of faces who at this moment are experiencing their own personal pains and losses. When a death occurs, so too comes the shock and the loss of reality — the feelings most strongly reflected in her photographs. This loss of reality goes hand-in-hand with the death of someone close, especially when the death is unexpected.

Jantzen’s images ask, “How will you adapt to this loss? How was the experience? How did the events absorb you?” Her intent is to help people down the path of life towards healing.

Additionally, Ellen Jantzen’s photos allow her to explore her own life journey as her parents age. Ultimately, her goal is to reflect both general and universal losses, and to express the anguish, followed by the slow acceptance, one feels upon the loss of a friend or relative.

Trailing Autumn

If you’d like to purchase one of her beautiful photographs or see more of this series, “losing reality; reality of loss,” visit her web site here.

To view more healing photographs:

• Read about the healing power of photography for those who have lost a baby at birth or shortly after. See our past post on the volunteer organization Now I lay Me Down to Sleep.
• See how a photographer memorialized her mother by creating a world of fairy tales inspired by her childhood.
• For ideas on how to heal from a loss please check out our After Death Planning Guide on the “Healing Process”.