EOL Navigators
Donna Bassin is a powerful storyteller using the arts as a witness to trauma. She records societal change in her role as fine art photographer, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, documentary filmmaker and author.
So you can imagine how thrilled I was when she agreed to use her camera to help reframe a conversation no one wants to have.
Fashion!
Turn to the left
Fashion!
Turn to the right
Oooh, fashion!
We are the goon squad and we're coming to town
Beep-beep Beep-beep
- David Bowie
During pre-production, we talked about consumerism and how our culture rewards style over substance—a conceit which works exceedingly well for the young, socially connected crowd, but no so much for an aging generation.
Everyone involved understood my goal was to produce an influential pictorial essay — a piece of communication that turned our current end of life narrative inside out to purposefully deliver a fresh perspective.
That’s the backstory. Shooting began in January 2019, long before the pandemic struck— long before end of life professionals were widely recognized for their selfless, heroic compassion and long before anyone saw what we saw.
But that’s what happens with art.
We add family, we lose family. We love to the best of our ability and push ourselves to respectfully accept differences. Beginnings, middles and ends. -Lois Nachamie LCSW-R Psychotherapist
Caregivers are so often on their own, pulled out of their comfort zone. It’s game changing to have someone there to address the unspeakable, shed light into the unknown and if possible, help find the exquisite in the midst of it all. -Devorah Medwin, Interdisciplinary Practitioner
Sometimes as an antidote
To fear of death,
I eat the stars.
- Rebecca Elson