Archiving queer pasts: queering the cemetery in the digital space

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master_Marpegan_Zina_2025.pdf (6.46 MB)

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School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
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Date

2025-07-31

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Major/Subject

Visual Communication Design

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Degree programme

Master's Programme in Art and Media

Language

en

Pages

45

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Abstract

A common trope in conservative rhetoric is to justify the discrimination of queer people by stating that they did not exist in the past. Despite there being historic proof of our queer ancestors, it seems we need an emotional way to represent this proof, a way to humanize those queer pasts. Cemeteries represent whole communities and their hierarchies. They often reward the people with power, money, or class with space and visibility: with memory. These are places that record history and give physicality to memory yet are selective in whose memory is kept alive. Queer people, historically discriminated in Western culture and actively erased from history, have not been openly represented in this space. Even if general society becomes more accepting, cemeteries and their norms remind us about our place in this society. By reimagining or queering the cemetery, we can democratize the way that cemeteries represent people's lives. The cemetery has the potential to remember the queer everyday people of the past and bring to the forefront their stories and memories. This thesis asks what the aesthetics of a Western cemetery are, particularly Argentinian and Finnish ones, and how they might be used to represent queer people in death. Through the research, I explore the potential of the graveyard as a space for queer public memory from a visual communication perspective. A literature review and walking sessions were used to answer this question. Data gathered from the walking sessions was analyzed visually and qualitatively to find potential for queerness in the graveyard. It identified the elements that compose a grave and the following visual themes: Interaction, Passing of time, Shadows, Representing the Body, and Individuality. The research highlighted the need for tangible queer representation in the graveyard and the role that visuals play in the deathscape. The results support the design of a digital cemetery, where the user can explore a queer cemetery and reflect on the current and past practices that marginalize queer people in their death.

Description

Supervisor

Vyas, Rupesh

Thesis advisor

Alasuutari, Varpu

Keywords

queer publlic memory, deathscapes, cemetery, graveyard, website design, walking

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202508296992

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[master] Taiteiden ja suunnittelun korkeakoulu / ARTS