Some dying people appear to wait for a particular person before dying.
A research-informed multidisciplinary art project
WHAT THE
DYING SEE
Emily Turnbull · PhD Researcher and Artist
Developed with the Centre for Liminal Studies
ENTERTHE PROJECT
What happens when experiences witnessed around dying are translated into art?
What The Dying See transforms anonymised witness accounts from Emily Turnbull's doctoral research into drawings, large-scale paintings and immersive installations using light, sound and sculptural elements.
The project creates space for audiences to consider dying, consciousness, grief and meaning without being told what to believe.
About the projectTHE RESEARCH
The survey maps
the wider pattern.
2,185
UK ADULTS SURVEYED
A nationally representative YouGov survey explored public beliefs about and experiences of unusual phenomena witnessed around dying.
RESPONDENTS AGREED THAT:
Sudden, unexpected lucidity may occur near death.
Some dying people experience waking visions.
Rounded weighted percentages from a nationally representative YouGov survey of 2,185 UK adults.
The survey maps the wider pattern.
Each artwork begins with
one witness account.
ANONYMISED SURVEY ACCOUNT
A beautiful gardenand the dying woman'slong-deceased motherwaiting for her.
Presented as an account description, not a verbatim quotation.
FROM TESTIMONY TO ART
The experience determines the medium.
Each witness account guides the choice of medium and artistic treatment. Concrete details shape the work, while drawing, large-scale painting, sound, light, scent, sculpture and immersive installation may be explored according to the qualities of the experience described.
WITNESS TESTIMONYARTISTIC RESPONSEEXHIBITION ENCOUNTER
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTISTIC VISION
Painting, drawing,moving image, installationand sensory encounter.
Indicative concept visualisations. These are development ideas rather than completed artworks or final designs; each element remains grounded in anonymised witness testimony and subject to artistic, technical, sensory and emotional testing.
Explore the artistic visionTHE EXHIBITION
Witness testimony, original artwork and research — encountered together.
A warm, spacious and non-prescriptive environmentallows audiences to encounter sensitive materialthrough calm attention rather than spectacle.
EXHIBITION EXPERIENCE
Witness testimony, artwork and immersive installation encountered together.
PUBLIC PROGRAMME
Artist-researcher talks, panel discussion and facilitated conversation around research, creative process, dying, consciousness and meaning.
DIGITAL LEGACY
Filmed documentation, selected talk or panel material, photographs and accessible online resources.
ACCESS & EMOTIONAL CARE
Clear content information, seating, accessible circulation, captions, transcripts and carefully considered optional sensory elements.
What might experiences around dyingtell us — about dying,and about ourselves?
EMILY TURNBULL
Researcher · Artist
Emily Turnbull is a PhD researcher and artist exploring end-of-life experiences witnessed around dying and the questions they raise about consciousness, grief and meaning. Her doctoral research combines a nationally representative UK survey with in-depth qualitative interviews. Through What The Dying See, she translates anonymised witness accounts into drawings, paintings and immersive multidisciplinary work, creating space for these experiences to be encountered with curiosity, care and without prescribing what they mean.
About Emily & the researchDEVELOPED WITH
CENTRE FOR
LIMINAL STUDIES
The first public exhibition is being developed with the Centre for Liminal Studies, based at Broughton Sanctuary near Skipton in North Yorkshire, bringing together research, original artwork, public conversation and digital documentation.
FOLLOW THE PROJECT