Jody Servon

Artist Statement

“Saved: Objects of the Dead” is a long-term collaboration between artist Jody Servon and poet Lorene Delany-Ullman. Large color photographs of belongings preserved after a loved one’s death are paired with prose poems distilled from interviews, honoring the emotional afterlife of ordinary things. Each participant lends an object—a ring, a shirt, a toy, a tool—and shares its story. Photos and text together transform these everyday items into intimate portraits of love, loss, and the lives that continue in their wake.

Rather than illustrating grief in the abstract, “Saved” lingers on the specific: a crease in fabric, a chip in a mug, a phrase a person can’t forget. These details invite viewers to imagine the hands that touched these objects and the relationships they once moved through. The project suggests that the things we save are not simply relics of the past, but active carriers of memory and connection. “Saved”asks a quiet but urgent question: when someone is gone, what remains—and what do the objects we keep say about how we continue to love them?

Note: We have a book about the project that we'd be interested in sharing as part of this exhibition. More info is at: savedobjectsofthedead.com. Also, an invitation to our online project on Instagram @savedobjects is open to anyone to submit photographs and descriptions of their own “saved objects,” extending the conversation globally.

Note: Several works in “Saved: Objects of the Dead”were destroyed during the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. This exhibition would be meaningful in the project’s recovery.