Images, objects and their afterlives | Inaugural lecture from Professor Annebella Pollen

What kind of stories can historic images and objects tell us about the past? When objects and images are preserved, in personal collections or in institutional archives, what kinds of futures are they expected to serve? And what happens when those stories get lost, or those histories are forgotten?

Over two decades, Professor Pollen has built a series of studies that reinterpret undervalued collections and examine visual and material culture that has been pushed to the margins. From photographs found in end-of-life house clearances to the visual archives of utopian movements, she questions what gets wasted and saved, what gets culturally consecrated and what gets overlooked.

Professor Pollen’s lecture reflects on how we use images and objects to narrate our lives, and how seeing and feeling historic images and objects can offer fresh perspectives for the present day.

Inaugural lectures
Interested in watching more of our fascinating inaugural lectures? Visit our website: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/inaugurals

We host inaugural lectures throughout the academic year. These events are free, open to staff, students and the public and are the first lecture delivered by a newly-appointed professor at the University of Brighton. We publish each lecture online after the event.

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