2021, photo series, dimensions variable

“My great-great-grandfather’s, great-grandfather’s,
grandfather’s and father’s name was Károly Hofgárt.
my great-great-grandfather, Károly Hofgárt (1868–1942)
my great-grandfather, Károly Hofgárt (1898–1957)
my grandfather, Károly Hofgárt (1936–1990)
my father, Károly Hofgárt (1959–2019)
All of them died of cardiac problems. I have sought
to playfully and ironically alienate and distance myself from
the deaths of my ancestors. But I don’t know yet if it will work.” KH

The series Mourning Dance – In memory of my fathers by Károly Hofgárt was made as a thesis in 2021. Based on the grief theory by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross this touchingly personal artwork was created in the hope of acceptance, release, trauma processing and grieving. The artist attempted to do this by using the tools of participatory photography, consciously confronting the ephemerality and fragility of his ancestors and himself.

The structure of the photo series is organised along the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) in which an external perspective is developed. Hofgárt re-enacted the funeral situation, which allowed him to live the experience as a prepared, active participant dragged into the present. The re-enactment helped him to work through his feelings that are less verbal and his experiences of the traumatic memory. In psychoanalytic literature, this process is called elaboration. During the creative process, he experienced first-hand how the tool of photography can be used for therapeutic purposes of stress release, spiritual healing and post-traumatic growth.