Denis Longchamps
No. 105 - fall 2013

Ghost stories..


The question “is there a life after death?” has fascinated people for ages. As far back as the eighteenth century, novels such as Frankenstein and The Cavern of Death captured the imagination of the public. Even today, just a quick look at the line up of films and television programs confirms that zombies, vampires, spirits and ghosts are in vogue. Many people do wonder if there is some sort of life after death… some even push the issue by searching for ways to defy, circumvent or even cheat death.

Consequently, the living-dead (as in zombies and vampires) or other forms of afterlife existence (as in ghosts and spirits) hold, not only entertainment value but also bring to the fore the “what if” possibility. In popular culture, fiction and legend seem to blend with reality as in the television program Ghost Hunters,which examines such phenomenon in assumed haunted places with all the seriousness and high tech equipment required. Such popular enthusiasm witnessed in this subject matter is parallel in contemporary artistic practice where the explorations take on multiple levels and touch many interrelated issues from the global environment to international politics to private concerns. While some question the public’s fascination with the undead, others delved into this form of (un)bodily representation to highlight contemporary issues far beyond that of just mere entertainment. The works examined within this context include the Apport series started in 2010 and Psychic Cabinet of John Latour


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