Exposure: the ethics of making, sharing and displaying photographs of human remains

Abstract

This article will query the ethics of making and displaying photographs of human remains. In particular, we will focus on the role of photography in constituting human remains as specimens, and the centrality of the creation and circulation of photographic images to the work of physical anthropology and bioarchaeology. This work has increasingly become the object of ethical scrutiny, particularly in the context of a (post)colonial politics of recognition in which indigenous people seek to recover dominion over their looted material heritage, including the remains of their dead. This ethical concern extends to the question of how and under what circumstances we may display photographs of human remains. Moreover, this is not just a matter of whether and when we should or should not show photographs of the remains of the dead. It is a question of how these images are composed and produced. Our discussion of the ethics of the image is, therefore, indivisible from a consideration of the socio-technical process by which the photographic image is produced, circulated and consumed.

To Replicate, or Not to Replicate? The Creation, Use, and Dissemination of 3D Models of Human Remains: A Case Study from Portugal

“…The necessity to place human remains in their appropriate social and cultural contexts was acknowledged. This opposes the Western illuminist philosophy, which contributed to the objectification of the body based on a dualistic split of the body and mind widely adopted in scientific and medical spheres, ignoring the body as the vessel for religious and social identities and experiences within a community [63]. The concept of seeing a replica as "real bone" may be odd, but it needs to be included in the discussion of building and disseminating 3D models.…”

Exploring public perceptions of creating and using 3D printed human remains

“…Public support for the display of human remains in museum settings has been identified [17], as well as for use in research [18]. However, there are differing opinions when it comes to the display of remains of a sensitive nature, such as infant remains [18,19]. In a recent study, Alves-Cardoso and Campanacho [20] explored the feelings of the public from a sample population with a majority (95%) of Portuguese participants (n = 312) about the creation, access, and dissemination of 3D human remains from a cultural heritage perspective.…”

“…In contrast, the display of medical specimens and the remains of babies are areas that can cause greater concern [19,22]. The study by Hirst et al [18], considered the relationship between 3D prints of human remains and real human remains and surveyed the opinions of museum visitors.…”

“…Physical human remains are not always the subject of an exhibit; traditionally photographs have been used and more recently 3D reproductions have been introduced [24]. The power of distressing photographs has been explored previously, with, for example, a series of photographs titled 'Death and Disaster' in the 1960s that attempted to challenge perceptions of the display of human remains [19]. The series was comprised of press photographs from car crashes and accidents, including deceased bodies and aimed to confront the fascination with violence and death held by the general public [19].…”

From Ta-Kesh to Ta-Kush: The affordances of digital, haptic visualisation for heritage accessibility

“…Yet, as with any item presented for exhibition, no act of exhibition is ever a neutral practice. With the exception of some notable contributions to anatomical museums and thanatology scholarship respectively (Alberti et al, 2009;Krmpotich et al, 2010;Harries et al, 2018), curators in the UK have reached uneven agreement on if and how human remains in museum collections should be accessed, and by whom. Very few sources, with the exception of Angel's visual and material anthropology (see Angel 2013Angel , 2015Angel , 2016, discuss the potentially productive aspects of encountering human remains in museums.…”