Gallery 4
So this is goodbye?
Olga Svyatova
Roomsheet
Ambiguous loss is one that occurs without the likelihood of reaching emotional closure. The term was coined in the late 1970s by researcher Pauline Boss while studying families of soldiers who went missing in action. Examples of ambiguous loss include infertility, termination of pregnancy, the disappearance of a family member, death of an ex-spouse, or a family member being physically alive but in a state of cognitive decline. We all know death; when a loved one dies we are accustomed to funeral rituals. With ambiguous loss, there are no rituals; there are no customs.
So this is goodbye? explores ambiguous loss through the lens of the artist who lost their father in 2021 from Covid-19 in Russia. This highly personal and documentary exhibition draws on the photographic medium as one that simultaneously embodies both memory and loss. It reflects on universal themes of grief, loss and memory and gives the artist the opportunity to commemorate and get some relief and understanding of their loss.