Framing the unforgettable: Photography as a tool for negotiating and reimag(in)ing the memories of the missing relatives

Abstract

In this article, I explore how the memories of the missing men that perished in the Bosnian War have been framed, forged and relayed among the surviving family members by means of photography. I analyse three cases of the use of photography and its creative processing among the surviving relatives through which they sought to add a sense of individuality to the objects of camera – their missing family members. The data for this article are derived from my ethnographic engagement with the Bosnian communities of genocide survivors resettled in Australia and the United States, combined with the visual analysis of artworks relative to the topic of lost family members. The article also highlights the conductivity of photography through which the post-generation identifies with and processes the ancestral trauma of genocide. The findings from this article re-visit the importance of materiality in the service of memory, through which the loss is mediated, transformed, transmitted and embraced. I argue that closer scholarly engagement with personal(ised) modes of honouring and remembering the individual victims of genocide can foster a better understanding of its emotional reverberations and impact on the healing of affected societies.