The Prospect of Immortality takes its title from Robert C.W. Ettinger’s 1962 book, which gave birth to the idea of cryonics: the freezing of a human body after death in the hope that scientific advances might one day restore life.
Between 2006 and 2016, I undertook an extensive photographic investigation of the practice Ettinger inspired. The work moves from the English seaside town of Peacehaven to laboratories in Arizona and the facilities of KrioRus on the outskirts of Moscow, tracing the small but dedicated international cryonics community.
Combining portraits with photographs of the technical processes involved, I explore a collective attempt to overcome the “problem of death”. Whilst members have often been ridiculed for their views, I maintain an objective stance, allowing the viewer to consider the ethics of the practice and to decide whether those involved are caught up in a fantasy world of science fiction or engaged in genuine scientific innovation.
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The Prospect of Immortality takes its title from Robert C.W. Ettinger’s 1962 book, which gave birth to the idea of cryonics: the freezing of a human body after death in the hope that scientific advances might one day restore life.
Between 2006 and 2016, I undertook an extensive photographic investigation of the practice Ettinger inspired. The work moves from the English seaside town of Peacehaven to laboratories in Arizona and the facilities of KrioRus on the outskirts of Moscow, tracing the small but dedicated international cryonics community.
Combining portraits with photographs of the technical processes involved, I explore a collective attempt to overcome the “problem of death”. Whilst members have often been ridiculed for their views, I maintain an objective stance, allowing the viewer to consider the ethics of the practice and to decide whether those involved are caught up in a fantasy world of science fiction or engaged in genuine scientific innovation.
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