Private Grief in Public Spaces: Interpreting Memorialisation in the Contemporary Cemetery

Abstract

Much more than a static landscape of headstones, benches and rose gardens, the contemporary cemetery is a dynamic space filled with assumptions, activities and perspectives, some of which are contradictory. This chapter sheds light on these contradictions through examining the material culture of the cemetery landscape, particularly at the site of the grave. It does so based on the proposition that the cemetery is a space in which private emotion (grief) and public behaviour (mourning) intersect in potentially problematic ways.

Cemeteries are places where the living will go; cemeteries are places where our heritage is stored; cemeteries are places where nature, art and learning can thrive; cemeteries are meeting points for the bereaved and recreational visitors alike; cemeteries are part of our memory bank. Our cemeteries are cultural landscape; cemeteries are open air museums and spiritual places.

(Hussein, 2006: 16)