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Mo ali y
P omo ing he in e disciplina y s udy o dea h and dying
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Pho og aphic na a i es o Co id-19 du ing Spain’s
s a e o eme gency: images o dea h, dying and
g ie
Mon se Mo ca e & Rebeca Pa do
To ci e his a icle: Mon se Mo ca e & Rebeca Pa do (2022) Pho og aphic na a i es o
Co id-19 du ing Spain’s s a e o eme gency: images o dea h, dying and g ie , Mo ali y, 27:4,
426-442, DOI: 10.1080/13576275.2022.2141206
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13576275.2022.2141206
© 2022 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma
UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis
G oup.
Published online: 21 No 2022.
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Pho og aphic na a i es o Co id-19 du ing Spain’s s a e o
eme gency: images o dea h, dying and g ie
Mon se Mo ca e
a
and Rebeca Pa do
b
a
Depa men o Visual A s and Design, Facul y o Fine A s, Uni e si a de Ba celona, Ba celona, Spain;
b
Depa men o Audio isual Communica ion, Facul y o Communica ion Sciences, Uni e si a In e nacional
de Ca alunya, Ba celona Spain
ABSTRACT
Co id-19 is he i s pandemic o be b oadcas and pho og aphed
as i happens wo ldwide. Howe e , despi e he ple ho a o images
on coun less aspec s o he pandemic, ew media images ha e
co e ed i s mo e sensi i e issues, such as he collapse o he
heal hca e sys em, he p ocess o dying alone, o he dis up ion
o une al i es and mou ning. Consequen ly, he isual na a i es o
he pandemic a e biased. They lack images ha show i s mo e
d ama ic aspec s. This a ec s no only how he public pe cei es
and eac s o Co id-19, bu also he isual e idence ha will emain
o his o ical memo y in he u u e. Wi h one o he wo ld’s highes
case a es and mos s ingen s a es o eme gency, Spain o e s an
in e es ing case s udy o analyse he pandemic’s pho og aphic
na a i es and i s missing images du ing lockdown. This pape
ocuses on he p esence o absence o images dealing wi h illness,
dea h, dying and g ie , as well as hei ways o ep esen a ion. I
del es in o he aming o pa icula isual na a i es h ough an
analysis o he images ha appea ed in Spain’s leading newspape s,
oge he wi h semi-s uc u ed in e iews conduc ed wi h
enowned pho ojou nalis s who wo ked on he on line o docu-
men Co id-19 du ing lockdown.
KEYWORDS
Illness na a i es; Co id-19;
dea h; g ie ; epidemic
pho og aphy;
pho ojou nalism
In oduc ion
The Co id-19 pandemic has become he mos signi ican his o ical e en o ecen
decades because o i s eno mous social and economic impac , and he chaos i has
p esen ed o heal h ca e sys ems wo ldwide. Despi e he shock igge ed by he a i al
o Co id-19, pandemics a e nei he a new no an ex ao dina y human phenomenon,
especially in coun ies ha do no ha e he esou ces o suppo needed o comba
disease. Epidemics and pandemics a e a silen , la en eali y ha pe iodically appea ,
challenging he limi s o he human capaci y o ace dea h when hey do so. In he g ip o
a pandemic, humans c ea e new na a i es, new me apho s and e en new language o
unde s and and con ol i , no only om a pu ely echnical o heal hca e pe spec i e, bu
in he social a ena oo. In his espec , he a i al o Co id-19 coincides wi h an ex a-
o dina y momen o globalisa ion in communica ions and he ci cula ion o images. Wi h
CONTACT Mon se Mo ca e [email p o ec ed] Uni e si a de Ba celona, Ba celona, Spain
MORTALITY
2022, VOL. 27, NO. 4, 426–442
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13576275.2022.2141206
© 2022 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i a i es License
(h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which pe mi s non-comme cial e-use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any med-
ium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, and is no al e ed, ans o med, o buil upon in any way.
he in e ne , social media, sma phone pho og aphy and connec i i y, a signi ican po -
ion o he popula ion now li e h ough he lens, cons an ly aking and sha ing images
(Lis e , 2013). The images ha ha e eached ou sc eens om he ou side wo ld, pa icu-
la ly du ing lockdown, o m he basis o ou collec i e s o y and ou u u e collec i e
memo y. Wi h Co id-19, his has all occu ed in a communica ion con ex ha c i ics ha e
desc ibed as an ‘in odemic’. Pa do p oposes he new e m ‘pho odemic’ (2020a) o
cap u e he lood o images ha mix oge he depic ions o li e du ing lockdown, conce s
on balconies and ins ances o au o ic ion wi h o he images o heal hca e p o essionals,
poli icians, he media. The e m also akes in memes and images manipula ed om o he
pandemics o c ises. The phenomenon o he pho odemic ma ks a majo di e ence wi h
p eceding pandemics, and is a guably dis inc om wha Lyn e is (2020) has iden i ied as
‘epidemic pho og aphy’.
While he Co id-19 pandemic is one o he mos pho og aphed and documen ed
e en s in his o y, he e has been a ma ked absence o limi ed p esence o images
showing i s s a ke aspec s. F om ea ly on in he pandemic, ques ions ha e been asked
abou he absence o such images (Lewis, 2020; Pa do, 2020a, 2020b). In answe o such
ques ions, his a icle seeks o ocus on an analysis o he ypology and p esence o
images depic ing illness, dying, dea h and g ie ha ha e been p oduced and published
in he Spanish media by p o essional pho og aphe s du ing lockdown. Ou aim is o
con ibu e o an analysis o he isualisa ion o dea h and dying du ing Co id-19, i s ly, by
looking a he ole played by pho ojou nalis s in making he oll o he pandemic isible,
and, secondly, h ough an examina ion o he na a i es subsequen ly cons uc ed abou
he pandemic. While he e is s ill a deba e abou he appea ance o images o dea h in he
media owing o impo an di e ences be ween he deg ee and kind o ep esen a ion o
na u al dea h as opposed o iolen dea h, schola s end o ag ee ha images o dea h
seldom appea in he media, pa icula ly explici images (Aa on, 2014; Hanusch, 2008,
2010, 2013; Wal e e al., 1995).
Acco dingly, ou ini ial hypo hesis was ha he e would be a low isual ep esen a ion
o he mos se ious aspec s o he pandemic as a esul o a ce ain deg ee o censo ship
o e he images by edi o s o newspape s and/o by he pho og aphe s hemsel es. To
his end, we ha e iden i ied all images published in he h ee Spanish newspape s
analysed du ing he s ic es phase o lockdown and examined hei po en ial in luence
on he isual na a i es being gene a ed abou Co id-19. No ably, he pape ocuses on
he Spanish p in media. Spain was one o he coun ies ha des hi by he i s wa e o he
pandemic and unde wen one o he mos s ingen lockdowns. The analysed pe iod is o
pa icula in e es because o he majo ole played by images as a ool o communica ion
and con ac while he public emained isola ed a home. The pe iod unde sc u iny, which
begins wi h he decla a ion o a s a e o eme gency (Ma ch 14
h
, 2020) and ends wi h he
s a o de-escala ion (29
h
Ap il 2020), spans he mos signi ican pe iod o he pandemic
a an in o ma ional and socie al le el. I is also a pe iod ma ked by he c ea ion o he i s
isual na a i es o he pandemic, in which he p esence (o absence) and ypology o
images ha e ealed he se e i y o illness and dying con ibu ed no only o showing (o
no showing) wha was ac ually happening, bu also o c ea ing public opinion and
esponses o he pandemic. Fo he objec o analysis, we ha e selec ed he h ee mos
p ominen gene al-in e es newspape s in Spain: El País, El Mundo and La Vangua dia. In
addi ion, he pape d aws on he accoun s o pho ojou nalis s o majo enown and
MORTALITY 427
s anding in Spain in o de o include on -line es imony ha can help o iden i y he
agen s and ci cums ances behind he isual na a i es in ques ion.
While o he schola s ha e analysed he Spanish p ess du ing he pandemic, hey ha e
ocused on on -page headlines (Monjas e al., 2020; Núñez-Gómez e al., 2020) o on
a case s udy based on a limi ed numbe o speci ic images published by di e se media
ou le s (F eixa and Redondo-A olas, 2021). By con as , he p esen s udy del es in o
g aphic ep esen a ion mo e b oadly by indi idually and join ly analysing he quan i y,
ypology and ocus o images published abou he pandemic, and by compa ing and
con as ing he collec ed da a wi h he commen s o pho ojou nalis s who p oduced he
images. This a icle, and he s udy i is based on, seeks o con ibu e o a be e unde -
s anding o he p esence and/o absence o images o dea h and dying as a esul o
illness – as dis inc om he ep esen a ion o iolen dea h esul ing om non-medical
causes.
Theo e ical amewo k
P esences and absences in he pho og aphic ep esen a ion o dea h, dying and
g ie
The pho og aphic ep esen a ion o dea h and dying has been p esen since he eme -
gence o he medium. Changing a i udes o dea h and g ie ha e been e lec ed in he
changing na u e and use o images o dea h and dying (Wal e , 2015). So oo ha e he
uses and alues gi en o he pho og aphic image changed – o ins ance he pa icula
in ensi y o he pos -mo em image in he domes ic sphe e du ing he medium’s ea ly
decades (Mo ca e & Pa do, 2019; Mo ca e, 2012; Ruby, 1995).
While images o a lo ed one’s body in dea h and o he une als o o dina y people
ha e become inc easingly a e in amily a chi es, he isibili y o images o s a e une als
and une als o majo public igu es has become no malised in he media (Mo ca e &
Pa do, 2019; Sumiala, 2013). Dea h and g ie ha e become pa icula ly isible on he
in e ne (Pa do & Mo ca e, 2016), wi h pa icula emphasis on memo ialisa ion and g ie .
This new p e alence and in ensi y has con ibu ed o he e-no malisa ion o images
dea h, g ie and mou ning. Acco ding o Lyn e is (2020), he use o pho og aphy has also
been cen al o he way in which he public has expe ienced he mos ecen pandemics/
epidemics o he wen y- i s cen u y. Fo Lyn e is, he new gen e o epidemic pho o-
g aphy began o ake oo wi h he publica ion o he i s pho os o an epidemic a he
end o he nine een h cen u y ( he hi d global wa e o bubonic plague). In ligh o
medical pho og aphy ha depic ed symp oms, pa ien s and me hods o ea men ,
Lyn e is (2020) no es ha pho og aphe s began o documen and isualise no only he
disease-a lic ed bu he wide social, cul u al and ma e ial con ex s o epidemic. Lyn e is
iden i ies a ious ca ego ies o images in he p ess ha also depic ed he measu es being
adop ed o he con ol and con ainmen o disease: umiga ion, disin ec ion and acci-
na ion. Lyn e is addi ionally highligh s he documen a ion o bu ial i es as pu po ed
sou ces o in ec ion. Fo Lyn e is, p ess images ha e played a key ole in he e y
ans o ma ion o he idea o ‘pandemic’ om an ancien e m ound only in medical
dic iona ies o a wo d on e e yone’s lips.
428 M. MORCATE AND R. PARDO
Moelle has also iden i ied he use o ce ain isual me apho s, namely ‘science- ic ion
me apho s, animal me apho s, c ime, de ec i e o mys e y me apho s, apocalyp ic me a-
pho s and mili a y me apho s’ (Moelle , 1999, p. 64), which la gely eappea in he isual
na a i e o Co id-19. To unde s and he a ie y o co e age and he isual ‘ ones’ a play
in he ep esen a ion o illness and pandemics, Moelle s esses a numbe o a iables like
he no el y o he disease o i us, he iolence o he epidemic in e ms o i s symp oms,
and he scope o i s geog aphical and social impac . She p oposes six ca ego ies o
images: ha d-science images; images o animals o illus a e he o igin o he illness;
images o people in PPE ( o con ey he idea o con agion); images o ic ims o hei
medical condi ions; images o dea h, o bu ials and o une als ha es ablish he deadly
consequences o illness; and images o he disin ec ion o spaces o communica e
s a egies o epidemic con ol (Moelle , 1999, p. 66).
To gain a be e unde s anding o images o illness, i is use ul o no e he humanis u n
ha ook place a he end o he wen ie h cen u y in s o y elling and in wha ha e come o
be known as illness na a i es (F ank, 1995; Kleinman, 1988) w i en by au ho s who ha e
pu alue on pa ien s and hei s o ies. This has had a clea impac on he agency o pa ien s,
a g owing ealisa ion o hei igh s and he need o g ea e awa eness. The changing shape
o li e a y na a i es o illness ( o an o e iew, see Hydén, 1997) has coincided wi h
a ans o ma ion in he isual na a i es o illness (Mo ca e & Pa do, 2019).
To con ex ualise p ess images, Choulia aki (2006) es ablishes h ee discou ses o
news ( ela ed o he egimes o pi y ha she iden i ies): ad en u e news, eme gency
news and ecs a ic news. Each discou se in ol es di e ing deg ees o emo ional and
mo al in ol emen om he spec a o . In his s udy on he ep esen a ion o he SARS
pandemic, S ijn Joye adds a ou h ca ego y; one ha is pa icula ly use ul o he
p esen s udy: he ca ego y o neglec ed news (2010, p. 589). Wi h his e m, Joye
poin s o he ideological and poli ical implica ions o he absence o pa icula news
i ems (and, by ex ension, he absence o pa icula images). Disas e s exis o mos
people only i hey a e p esen in he media (Joye, 2010, p. 593). As Richa dson
poin s ou (Richa dson, 2007, p. 93), i is necessa y o ecognise ha e en s a e
communica ed as much by absence as by p esence, so ha wha is los o excluded
also ca ies meaning and shapes na a i e.
Choulia aki (2010) and Campbell (2004) a gue ha i is necessa y o unde s and
he cul u al con ex in which images o dea h a e aken, dis ibu ed and published
i he ull conno a ion o such images, and hei meanings, is o be g asped. Son ag
(2003/2007) and Moelle (1999) ha e bo h obse ed ha he e is a p edisposi ion
o show cul u ally dis anced dea h and su e ing, whe eas special ca e is gi en o
ic ims who eel close o home. Son ag (2003/2007) has aised he ques ion o
whe he images a ec us mo e i hey show ‘ou people’, emphasising ha images
o ou own dead a e no like images o he dead o o he s, because hey a e e en
ha de o bea and accep . Hanusch (2008) pu s g ea e s ess on he p edisposi ion
o daily newspape s o o e in o ma ion ha is ele an o he public, and
‘ ela able’.
The globalised scope and impac o he pandemic has made s a kly isible
coun less, a ied p ocesses o loss, bo h p ima y and seconda y, in e e y ealm o
human li e, emo ions and he economy (Zhai & Du, 2020), u ning g ie in o he
mos e e yday elemen o li e amid he pandemic. I has gi en ise o ‘new
MORTALITY 429
geog aphies o dea h’ (Madd ell, 2020) in which many indi iduals ha e been
abandoned o hei a e in elde ca e acili ies, hospi als o he s ee s; and in
which many ha e died o ally alone and/o ha e been bu ied wi h nobody in
a endance sa e o une al s a , o en in mass g a es, wi hou espec ing ei he
he las wishes o he deceased o he g ie o su i o s. Heal hca e pe sonnel ha e
expe ienced ‘exhaus ion due o hea y wo kloads and p o ec i e gea , ea o
becoming in ec ed and in ec ing o he s, eeling powe less o handle pa ien s’
condi ions, accompanied by a sense o being ully esponsible o pa ien s’ well-
being’ (Chochino e al., 2020). As a esul , millions o people ha e simul aneously
unde gone p ocesses o loss, su e ing and dea h, including p ocesses o an icipa-
o y o disen anchised g ie , which can be pa icula ly in ense (Wallace e al., 2020,
p. 75) bu ha e been ep esen ed li le o no a all in he media. The Co id-19
pandemic has sp ung up p ecisely wi hin he o e exposu e o he social g ound in
he media and on he in e ne a he same ime ha loss is s ill being expe ienced
la gely in p i a e.
E hical deba es on pho ojou nalism in a ime o pandemic
In he ield o pho ojou nalism, he co e age o wa , amine, illness and dea h has
been a cons an , con ibu ing o he c ea ion and ci cula ion o images ha , on one
hand, p o ide a c i ical app oach o eali y and, on he o he hand, a o d a g aphic
documen and his o ical memo y as legacies o he u u e. The s a k na u e o some
images may make us ques ion he e hical limi s o pho ojou nalism and pho o-
g aphic ep esen a ion (Tagg, 1988) as well as he need o show ce ain images in
o de o, o example, aise awa eness o issues ela ed o human igh s (Lin ield,
2010). The explici pho og aphic ep esen a ion o iolence, su e ing and dea h has
aised a hos o e hical and s a egic deba es among media p o essionals and
heo is s alike (Bu le , 2007; G øns ad & Gus a sson, 2012; Mo se, 2014; Son ag,
2003/2007; Zelize , 2010). Such deba es e ol e a ound undamen al issues: he limi s
o ep esen a ion; he e ec s o o e exposu e o iolence and su e ing and he
e ec o epea ed exposu e o o e exposu e o ce ain s o ies in he media; and
he poli ical implica ions ha a e especially impo an in a pe iod as isual as he
p esen day.
As a consequence, he p o essional seeks o s ike a complex balance, using he
came a o show wha is undamen al in o de o bea wi ness, gene a e c i ical
opinion, and in some cases spu a change o eac ion in he spec a o , while ying
no o con ibu e o compassion a igue (Moelle , 1999). Acco dingly, compassion
a igue con ols and ac i a es a mechanism by which media p o essionals e y o en
choose subjec s ha no only a e po en ially mo e a ac i e o he eade , bu also
a ec he ype o isual na a i e, which becomes inc easingly mo e sensa ionalis ic
o ex eme and he eby jeopa dises he in eg i y o he p o ession – a dange aised
by Pepe Baeza (2001) wen y yea s ago.
Acco ding o Joan Fon cube a, he e a e images ha can ans o m li e, change
na a i es and e en c ea e new cu en s o opinion (Fon cube a, 2011, p. 4). Gi ing
pa icula a en ion o images ha ha e a dead body in he ame, Fon cube a
sugges s ha he image con eys an excess o u h and his excess some imes
430 M. MORCATE AND R. PARDO
becomes unbea able’ (Fon cube a, 2011, p. 3). The e hical deba e o e which images
a e pe inen o publish is mo e complex, howe e , because i is necessa y o ake
in o accoun ac o s ela ing o he ulne abili y o he indi iduals a ec ed, he
espec due o all people, he au ho isa ions ha a e equi ed o pho og aph and
ci cula e images, he igh o in o ma ion e sus he igh o p i acy, and so o h: in
o he wo ds, he deba e is abou wha cons i u es he highe good.
The p esen pandemic sheds ligh on a pa adigm shi ha was al eady p esen , a shi
now gaining in ensi y, p oducing a wa e shed in he way ha e en s o global each like
he pandemic a e documen ed and pe cei ed.
Me hodology
The esea ch me hodologies used o isual analysis (Van Leeuwen & Jewi , 2008),
isual da a (Banks, 2010) and con en analysis (Neuendo , 2002) in ela ion o isual
discou se a e no as well-implemen ed o sys ema ised as hey a e in o he a eas. As
a esul , he p esen a icle makes use o mixed me hods (Campos A enas, 2009).
A e iew o he li e a u e and documen a y sou ces ha poin o he impo ance o
he media as an essen ial sou ce du ing he i s lockdown in Spain enabled us o
limi he esea ch design o 14 Ma ch ( he day on which he p ime minis e decla ed
a s a e o eme gency) o 28 Ap il (when he go e nmen app o ed he de-escala ion
plan). Th ee daily newspape s we e selec ed o analysis. All h ee a e anked as
among he mos highly ead newspape s, bo h online and o line, in Spain (Newman
e al., 2019; Redacción Ba celona, 2019a, 2019b). In addi ion, his selec ion p o ides
no only geog aphic di e si y — El País and El Mundo a e based in Mad id, and La
Vangua dia in Ba celona – bu also ideological di e si y. Acco ding o one s udy El
Mundo is ‘mo e o he igh han a e age’,
1
while La Vangua dia is e y close o he
cen e/a e age, and El País ‘ il ing away om middle owa ds he cen e le ’ (SM
Repu a ion Me ics, 2015).
Fo each newspape , we selec ed he PDF e sion o he na ional edi ion ha
coincides wi h he p in e sion sold a newss ands and is accessible h ough online
subsc ip ion pla o ms and dedica ed mobile de ice applica ions. O e he 46 days in
ques ion, a o al o 137 issues we e published. All pho os accompanying news i ems
in hose 137 issues we e e iewed. Wi h he s udy’s key wo ds (illness, dea h and
g ie , abb e ia ed he ea e as IDG) as ou key analy ic e e ence poin s, we eached
ag eemen on he adequa e esea ch ca ego ies o ob ain an app op ia e classi ica-
ion o he da a and p epa e he ables and g aphs.
The collec ed da a show he ep esen a ion o dea h, g ie and illness in pan-
demic- ela ed images in ela ion o he o al numbe o images published in he
newspape s o e he pe iod. Images we e hen so ed by hose which ela ed o
news abou Co id-19. No included in he o als a e any images om he weekly
supplemen s, mo o ing pages o en e ainmen lis ings, as well as any pic u es o
columnis s ha accompany opinion a icles. These images a e excluded o a oid bias.
The analysis in his a icle ocuses on images ep esen ing Co id-19 illness, dea h and
g ie (IDG), whe e he e m g ie is ex ended o emb ace images o mou ning and he
complemen a y ca ego y o o he IDG images ha include bu ials, ceme e ies and
mo gues.
MORTALITY 431
Las ly, a key elemen o he s udy has been o compa e and con as he
collec ed da a wi h he s a emen s and expe iences o pho ojou nalis s in o de
o gain a g ea e unde s anding o he indings and asce ain why he e has been
a lack o published images ha ep esen dying, dea h and g ie , among o he
issues. To achie e his, we conduc ed semi-s uc u ed in e iews wi h six op- ie
pho ojou nalis s who ha e had long in e na ional ca ee s and wo ked on he
pandemic in Spain du ing he pe iod unde analysis. The in e iews we e con-
duc ed un il da a sa u a ion was eached. The six in e iewed pho ojou nalis s
a e: Ana Jiménez (La Vangua dia); Albe o Di Lolli (El Mundo); Ped o A mes e
( eelance pho og aphe who collabo a es wi h El País); Ge asio Sánchez (Spanish
Na ional P ize in Pho og aphy 2009); Rica do Ga cía Vilano a (Wo ld P ess
Pho o 2020); and Susan Ve a (Puli ze P ize 2020). They we e chosen because
hey ha e aken some o he mos iconic images o he pandemic o because
hey a e among he pho ojou nalis s who ha e been mos ac i e in epo ing
c i ically on wo king condi ions in he pe iod. P ecisely because o hei public
G aph 1. Pe cen ages o pho os by ca ego y: o al o all he 3 newspape s (14/03/2020-28/04/2020).
Table 1. Pho os by Subjec : Compa ison o he h ee newspape s (14/03/2020 - 28/04/2020).
Pho os by subjec
(14/03/2020 - 28/04/2020) El País El Mundo La Vangua dia TOTAL
To al IDG pho os in Co id-19 news 149 303 134 586
Non-IDG pho os in Co id-19 news 1884 1933 2811 6628
Pho os in news no ela ed o Co id-19 338 240 963 1541
TOTAL 2371 2476 3908 8755
432 M. MORCATE AND R. PARDO
isibili y and hei own commen s on he images, hei names ha e no been
anonymised.
Resul s
The o al numbe o images is 8,755 (see Table 1), which b eaks down as ollows: El País
(2,371), El Mundo (2,476) and La Vangua dia (3,908). O hese, 1,541 did no accompany
news ha bea s any ela ion o Co id-19. The emaining images (7,214) we e published
wi h pandemic- ela ed news, bu only 586 belong o he IDG ca ego y.
As G aph 1 shows, only 6.69% o he pho os published by he h ee newspape s we e
IDG pho os ela ed o Co id-19, whe eas mo e han h ee qua e s o he pho os illu-
s a ed news linked o Co id-19 bu did no show ill people, dea h o g ie (and 17.60%
we e images o subjec s o he han he pandemic).
The o al numbe o images ha speci ically ep esen he pandemic is e en mo e limi ed.
O he images ela ed o ill people, dea h and g ie (see Table 2 and G aph 2), only 170 show
pa ien s. O hese, mos a e asymp oma ic o ecen ly discha ged, while he majo i y o
pa ien s shown in he ICU a e pa ially hidden and no image o he ace o a dying pe son
has been iden i ied. Se en y- wo images we e designa ed as ela ed o dea h and 38 o g ie .
G aph 2. IDG pho os: compa ison o he h ee newspape s (14/03/2020-28/04/2020).
MORTALITY 433
Funding
This esea ch was suppo ed by P ojec RTI2018-098181-A-I00, unded by: FEDER/Minis e io de
Ciencia e Inno ación-Agencia Es a al de In es igación; and by he Fundació G í ols unde unding
p o ided h ough i s 2020 esea ch g an s in bioe hics o he p ojec ‘E hics o images o illness,
dea h and g ie in he ime o Co id-19’.
No es on con ibu o s
Mon se Mo ca e’s esea ch ocuses on he isual ep esen a ion o dea h, illness and g ie . She is co-
edi o o he book La imagen des elada: ep esen aciones o og á icas de la en e medad, la mue e y el
duelo [The image un eiled: Pho og aphic ep esen a ions o illness, dea h and g ie ] (2019). Mo ca e
is a membe o h ee esea ch p ojec s: ‘Making pain isible: Visual edia s o y elling’ unded by
FEDER/Spanish Minis y o Science and Inno a ion; ‘Connec ed bodies: A and ca og aphies o
iden i y in a ansmedia socie y’ unded by he Spanish Minis y o Economy and Compe i i eness;
and ‘E hics o images o illness, dea h and g ie in he ime o Co id-19’ unded by Fundació G í ols.
Mo ca e has comple ed pos -doc o al esea ch s ays a Columbia Uni e si y and he Mo bid
Ana omy Museum (New Yo k), CSIC (Mad id) and MACBA (Ba celona). She has also been de eloping
and exhibi ing he own a wo ks, pu suing p ojec s in line wi h he ield o esea ch.
Rebeca Pa do’s esea ch ocuses on isual na a i es o illness, dea h and g ie . She has led se e al
esea ch p ojec s and is cu en ly he p incipal in es iga o o ‘Making pain isible’ (RTI2018-
098181-A-I00) unded by FEDER/Spanish Minis y o Science and Inno a ion. Toge he wi h
Mo ca e, Pa do ob ained a 2020 g an in bioe hics om he Fundació G í ols o he p ojec
‘E hics o images o illness, dea h and g ie in he ime o Co id-19’. Pa do has comple ed esea ch
s ays a he Uni e si y o B igh on, Ha a d Uni e si y, Spanish Na ional Resea ch Council and CED-
MACBA. He a wo ks ha e been exhibi ed in Spain, UK and I aly. In 2012, she ecei ed he A iel
P ize o bes young essay blogge s. Pa do has published a ious pape s and book chap e s and
aken pa in nume ous con e ences and lec u es. She is co-edi o o he book La imagen des elada:
ep esen aciones o og á icas de la en e medad, la mue e y el duelo (2019).
ORCID
Mon se Mo ca e h p://o cid.o g/0000-0001-6594-2806
Rebeca Pa do h p://o cid.o g/0000-0002-4475-6411
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