Title: Looking Death in the Face

Creator: Jacqueline van Bronkhorst

Category: Death

Creator Commentary:

Intimacy with death is a difficult subject to broach, though it is inevitable. As we acknowledge our life, we must also acknowledge our impending death. That knowledge constantly gnawing at our subconscious gives us a uniquely intimate relationship to death. But we are rarely forced to face it head on, and definitely not in the way displayed in these images. There was no sorrow here, no grief or loss usually associated with being forced to confront death. In the air, there was only a feeling of awe, possibly reverence. Every visitor had their own reaction to such a unique place, yet everyone’s reactions were quite similar. People were quiet, almost reverent, paying respect to the over 40,000 laid to rest here and considering their own mortality. It’s not often you get to look death in the face like this, and I was fascinated with people’s fascination. (Taken at the Sedlec Ossuary, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic.)

Submission:

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Creator Bio:

Jacqueline is a junior year screenwriting major who is spending her semester in Prague, Czech Republic. (If you want to talk to her about it, she won’t be able to stop talking about it for years, so just ask.) She’s meant to submit to Sapere Aude every semester since she was a freshman, and it took being away from all her friends in the Honors program to actually get in gear and make something she was proud to show them.