I found a small lemon tree: PART II (Revisited)
by Emilie Sandy
(In)visible Communicators
This ongoing body of work began during my MA in Photography. Originally titled (In)visible Communicators, the project explored spiritual communication through collaborative portraiture and film made with spiritual mediums.
As the work developed, its focus shifted intimately and irreversibly. Both of my parents died during the project. They became, quite literally, my invisible communicators and the emotional heart of the work.
My father’s terminal brain tumour and the subsequent deaths of both my parents redirected the project into a deeply personal exploration of after-death communication. Through photography, film and collaboration with spiritual mediums, I began to consider how grief, memory and a sense of spiritual presence might manifest visually.
Part II
Part II began when I rediscovered my mum’s inquest letter, a document I had avoided reading for ten years. When I finally opened it, I was struck by its clinical detail, particularly the recording of the weights of her organs. Strangely, its disembodied and forensic language created a distance between me and the raw reality of her death.
That encounter planted a seed. I knew that one day I would return to the letter through photography and moving image.
An invitation to present the work at PechaKucha at SVA on 17 June 2025 provided the deadline that moved the idea into action. It gave shape to new photographs and film created in response to the letter and my evolving experience of grief. The work sits with discomfort, intimacy and the quiet complexity of loss.
This new chapter continues to question what remains visible, what can be sensed and how we carry the presence of people who are no longer physically here.
Content note: This project contains references to terminal illness, death, post-mortem examination and grief, which some viewers may find upsetting.
I was on a crowded train when Dad called me. He said he had a strange lump on his brain.
RESPECT THE STONES I come to tidy, Clear weeds, leave flowers— A quiet sign of respect. Mum did the same. Now it’s my turn. One day, it will be my children’s turn.
JUST MOTHER IT Mask, milk, jumper—my roles on repeat. Pink for their love, white for her loss. Remote in hand—maker, mother, always both.
THIS IS IT I face the fading self— my roles unravel, parents gone, white flowers, a mask, motherhood slipping. What remains is what I leave behind.
I LET LEMONS SPEAK FIRST For ten years, I couldn’t read it. So –– I let lemons speak first. Bitter. Bright. Sharp. Clean. What alcohol took from her, I place here instead.
LIVER + LEMON Her liver carried the weight of silence. A lemon to cleanse her. Her final gift–given too late. Bitter. Sweet. Side by side.
ADC (After Death Communication): ‘Together Again’, 2012
’The Cleanse’, 2025
Dad: ‘Cheese is Cheese’, 2011
Dad: Post-op, 2011
Dad: ‘Life After Death’, 2011
Dad: ‘Bon Voyage’ (2010), 2012
Mum: ‘Mum’s Visitation’, 2012