Abstract
Following her tragic death in October 2012, a snapshot of Savita Halappanavar became the face of the movement to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution prohibiting abortion. This smiling photographic portrait, which had originated in a domestic, familial realm, was re-appropriated and gained iconic status in the years that followed. In the aftermath of certain tragedies, images of the deceased and sometimes even their bodies can be co-opted by certain causes, becoming public rather than private property, to be used for a political purpose. This article will trace the image’s trajectory from the family album to the streets of Ireland and the world. Savita’s face was reproduced on a myriad of posters, flyers and on murals, in both its original photographic form and in other media, such as screen prints, paintings and illustrations. Drawing upon the work of Gillian Rose and Martha Langford on family photography and the vernacular, I will show how a quotidian head and shoulders portrait became symbolic of a kind of martyrdom, akin to the instantly recognisable images of political leaders and rebels. It will also explore the resonance of Savita’s presence upon the street, giving a face to the cause for repeal, and embodying the human consequences of failing to provide abortion. Finally, the use of photography in performative protest, as well as its placement in temporary shrines and memorials (like those erected at the George Bernard Shaw public house, Dublin) will be addressed.
Highlights
Following her tragic death in October 2012, a snapshot of Savita Halappanavar became the face of the movement to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution prohibiting abortion
On 14 November 2012, this colour photographic portrait appeared on the front page of the Irish Times accompanying an article by Kitty Holland and Paul Cullen (Holland and Cullen, 2012: 1)
Her case perfectly encapsulated the dilemma faced by medical practitioners dealing with Ireland’s prohibition on abortion. When he appeared at her inquest, the former master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dr Peter Boylan, said that had she been given a termination on the day she was admitted (21 October) or the day after, ‘on the basis of probabilities, Savita would still be alive (...) by the time Savita’s condition worsened and termination became [legally] possible, it was too late to save her life’ (McGee, 2013: 15). It is the trajectory of this vernacular portrait and its role in the years leading up to the successful campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment to the Constitution in 2018 that this paper will explore, showing how a commonplace photograph was propelled into the public realm, making Savita an icon and shifting the visual field from the foetus to the woman
Summary
Following her tragic death in October 2012, a snapshot of Savita Halappanavar became the face of the movement to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution prohibiting abortion. It is the trajectory of this vernacular portrait and its role in the years leading up to the successful campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment to the Constitution in 2018 that this paper will explore, showing how a commonplace photograph was propelled into the public realm, making Savita an icon and shifting the visual field from the foetus to the woman.
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