The Last Post - by Tianqiutao Chen (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Last Post compiles the last photos posted on social media by people who have passed away, along with the corresponding text pieces that detail the images and the deaths. It addresses the aesthetics of vernacular imagery and the views of mortality and life, investigating how photographs circulate in our daily lives in the digital sharing age.

The deliberately sequenced and recontextualized last posts convey fictional narratives full of ambiguity and mystery, depicting life stories and grappling with the complexity of loss and absence. Meanwhile, the texts reveal factual information about the images and the deaths of the individuals who posted the photographs. Each text piece consists of the corresponding image posting date, image caption (if written), name of the individual who passed away, cause, date, location of death, and a short statement describing the death circumstance.

The images and texts in this project offer contextual information for each other, serving as different layers of fictional stories and factual realities. Image and text are separately placed, creating a zone of inquiry for the audience to investigate as they explore the connections/disconnections between the two parts and create multi-layered narratives for interpretation.