2024

Absence

Through a focused, place-based exploration of Cornelian Bay Cemetery, I challenged myself to confront the inevitability of death and the grief that accompanies it. Exploring grief can create space for processing loss and may prevent unresolved emotions from remaining within the body, only to resurface when triggered. The poem explores the emotional world of the unknown through absence, while considering the natural environment and its capacity to support emotional wellbeing.

As both humans and nature exist within cycles of life, my perception of the cemetery gradually shifted. What initially felt unnatural became a place where the boundaries between people and the environment seemed to dissolve. Closing my eyes and narrowing my focus to the sounds surrounding me allowed me to experience the cemetery differently. In searching for light within the darkness, I found comfort in this connection with nature; a sense of something greater that cannot be seen or touched, but can be felt through the quiet and peaceful sounds of the natural world.