Title

Imagining the Unknown

Author

Angelina Kidd

Date of Award

Spring 5-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MFA - Master of Fine Arts

Department

Photography

First Advisor

Christopher James

Abstract

It is true that there is no scientific proof of life after life or of the human soul. However, I believe there is a soul and that it is energy manifested as light. Our lifetime is a mere pulse when measured against the evolution of earth. We are connected to the cosmos through the very calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood, which originated from stars that died billions of years ago. My belief is that the earthly body is separate from the soul and that our light energy returns to the cosmos. Energy will not cease to exist, as it cannot be destroyed according to Laws of Thermodynamics. Therefore, if the soul is light energy, then it does not disappear and is instead transformed.

Historically, humans thought the world was flat or that the sun was “fire pulled across the sky by a chariot of the gods,”1 and both of these beliefs proved to be wrong. We have not scientifically proven that there is an afterlife yet but that does not mean it will not eventually be proven.

When my great-grandmother died, I was not yet old enough to fully understand her passing. Through my imagination of the unknown, akin to accounts of near-death experiences, my great-grandmother visited me daily. Her presence comforted me when no one else could. In a similar way, my mother still lives on within me and will never grow old. Twenty-three years ago, my mother’s life was transformed by cancer. As I approach the same age of her departure, I am constantly aware of my own existence. This is why my investigation into the unknown is relevant and personal.

Recommended Citation

Kidd, Angelina, "Imagining the Unknown" (2013). MFA in Photography and Integrated Media Theses. 6.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/mfa_photo_theses/6