The ashes we leave behind

The Ashes We Leave Behind

Wanderwelle, The Ashes We Leave Behind, still, colour, courtesy the artists

This video installation shows the spectral remnants of men and animals, seemingly caught in an endless cycle of their final, futile attempts to escape a barn fire in which they perished. As smoke thickens with each repetition, their desperate motions unfold again and again. This repetition, combined with an experimental soundtrack, immerses the viewer in an unsettling world where time feels suspended. Through these endless loops, the work reflects on death, memory, and the invisible traces left behind by catastrophic events.

Some paranormal researchers suggest that ghosts are not conscious spirits but rather recordings—imprints left by individuals who, in moments of intense fear, panic, or tragedy, inadvertently impress their energy onto their surroundings. Compiled from archival footage, this work chillingly illustrates the phenomenon of “residual hauntings,” depicting ghosts as echoes of the past, forever replaying their final moments. Here, the spectral figures of men and animals are bound to the scene of their demise, as if their desperate efforts to escape have been indelibly etched into the fabric of time itself.

The Ashes We Leave Behind serves as a haunting meditation on how these intense moments can leave lasting, invisible marks on the spaces we inhabit. The work invites us to question: What remains when a life ends? How do moments of tragedy continue to echo through time?

Date
2023

Medium
Analogue film transferred to digital video (colour, sound)

Duration
2:34 min.