From Death in the Ice to life in the museum: Absence, affect and mystery in the Arctic

The disappearance of the Franklin expedition in the mid-19th century and its eventual rediscovery in the 21st century revealed that absence and presence are not static states but dynamic processes shaped by curatorial sensibilities. This study juxtaposes the Franklin expedition's journey through the Northwest Passage with the 2017 'Death in the Ice' exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, UK, to explore how material and immaterial elements interact. By analyzing these sites through the concept of 'absent presence,' the research highlights the agency of both the physical objects and the narratives surrounding them, demonstrating that absence and presence are co-constitutive and dependent on embodied sensibilities.

Medby, I. A., & Dittmer, J. (2020). From Death in the Ice to life in the museum: Absence, affect and mystery in the Arctic. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 39(1), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775820953859