Crash Site Memorials
At present, there is no legislation to allow or ban roadside memorials or shrines. It is a
worldwide phenomenon. America appears to have the largest collection of web based
items on the subject. Ireland France and Australia also feature heavily. Websites exist
which are completely dedicated to the memory of individuals or groups of people killed on
the road. Memorabilia, activist groups, parliamentary papers, etc, focus on the victim’s
perspective. The memorials take many shapes and forms. They may contain a simple
bouquet of flowers. Some contain headstones, crosses, oil burners, poems, personal items.
The site of the accident becomes as important as the actual burial site. The place where
death occurred becomes the focal point. Anniversaries are remembered there. The grave is
the final resting place but the crash site plays an important part in the grieving and
remembering process.
Why take pictures of crash sites?
There is an ongoing debate amongst relatives of victims, parliamentarians, local
authorities and pro-active groups. It is a highly charged, contemporary and sensitive issue.
The intention is to photograph some of the sites in West Wales. The preferred medium is
E6 colour slide film with 1 to 1 flash. I envisage getting highly saturated brightly lit
images with darkening backgrounds.
As with the study of any other subject matter, the decisive moment of image capture is in
the hands and eyes of the photographer. Sophie Laslett is an award winning contemporary
photographer. Her photographs of Ibiza are open for interpretation. She focuses on young
people, Transvestites, Party goers. This is not to say that somewhere in Ibiza, life just isn’t
like this. Her photographs of Blackpool juxtapose Ibiza but contain a unique beauty of
their own. She aims the lens at empty piers stretching out to the sea. Rough seas and neon
lights paint bleak pictures. This is what she saw and captured. Of course, there is more to
Blackpool. It could be photographed in any number of different ways. Sophie expresses
her preference and in doing so, invites us to look, digest and quite possibly discuss.