William Rowan: Fear of Death
Fear of Death came to life from trauma during the pandemic.
Artist William Rowan shot Fear of Death on medium format film. Between April 2022 and September 2023, he traveled to Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and California. There, he created thematic images that complement death, aspiration, perception, transcendence, and effervescence through various locations, backdrops, and handmade sculptures.
“This series was catalyzed through a deep reckoning with personal and planetary trauma and temporality amidst the pandemic,” Rowan says. “I have come to understand death as a captivating, uniting, all-encompassing force — inspiring every action, viewpoint, and inkling of all people, directly and indirectly. This series, once a playground of escapist refuge, created amidst internal strife and a seemingly apocalyptic world, subverts into a chronicle of essential, universal human experience.”
