Jessica Shirley, Athel's Ashes (PEOPLE 2024)

I met with 87yr old Marina each week for 12 weeks to photograph her going about her daily life. Marinas husband Athel had died shortly before we met. They had been married for 70yrs. Marina carried Athels ashes about with her during her daily activities, they sat in the kitchen as she had her breakfast and came to her bedroom when she slept at night. I asked Marina the question “What do you think happens when we die?  To which she replied “We just, we just go back to dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”. Marina died a year after my photography project.

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