Christine Stoddard: Mortem et Virginiana
Artist Statement: “Mortem et Virginiana” is a small set of still photos from the pre-production stage of the documentary, “Richmond’s Dead and Buried.” Virginia is a land of vampires, a land of ghosts, and a land of the myths that shaped America. It, like the rest of the Western world, is also changing its attitudes towards death and dying as it attempts to reconcile its past with its present and future. While some tombstones stand resplendent, many more crumble or become enveloped in vegetation, dirt, and other coverings. What will the cemeteries of Richmond, Charlottesville, and Arlington look like in years to come?
Editor's Note: These photos appeared on our old site.
Born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, Christine Stoddard is a Salvadoran-Scottish-American writer, editor, and artist now based in New York. Her work has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Bustle, Native Peoples Magazine, The Feminist Wire, the New York Transit Museum, the Condé Nast Building, The Huffington Post, and beyond. In 2012, the Puffin Foundation honored her with a national emerging artist grant in photography. That same year, she debuted her documentary film, The Persistence of Poe, at the Poe Museum and on PBS-Richmond/Charlottesville. In 2014, Folio Magazine named Christine one of the media industry's top 20 people in their 20s for founding Quail Bell Magazine. Her book, Images of America: Richmond Cemeteries, which she co-authored with Misty Thomas. also came out that year. This year, The History Press published her book, Hispanic and Latino Heritage in Virginia.
