Gardens of Remembrance – Tome 2

Abandonment, decay, and the language of loss

Tome II continues where the first volume ends, both visually and conceptually. While maintaining the same chapter structure and photographic approach, this volume expands the geographical scope and deepens the narrative.

In addition to Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany, this volume introduces cemeteries from Luxembourg and Spain, broadening the cultural and historical perspective.

Where Tome I focuses on origin and construction, Tome II confronts abandonment. It explores the social, political, and practical factors that led to the neglect of once-crowded burial grounds: changing burial regulations, shifting religious attitudes, urban pressure, and evolving relationships with death.

A central textual thread in this volume is The Language of Burial Monuments, which examines funerary iconography in greater depth. Symbols are no longer merely described but contextualised — revealing how meaning changes when maintenance ceases and memory erodes.

Tome II is both a continuation and an evolution: more assured, more refined, and more reflective — a testament to continuous improvement within an independent, one-person project.