Sally Mann Photographs

The American photographer Sally Mann continues to stir up controversy with her photographs. From May 9 to September 20 The National Museum of Photography exhibits a retrospective of her pictures. Sally Mann's big breakthrough was the photo series "Immediate Family", where the pictures of her three children and the display of their naked innocence in particular created debate. Her lens had captured the children's skin with scratches and their provocative poses scandalized certain circles in the USA, where some found them "pornographic".

Sally Mann's three most recent photo series together make up the totality "What Remains", where the theme is death and transitoriness. Sally Mann gained access to a forensic study site in Tennessee where human bodies go through the natural process of decomposition.  The deceased are literally placed on the bare ground so that the researchers can study their decomposition. "Death is powerful," says Mann. "It's perhaps best approached as a springboard to appreciate life more fully. This whole body of work is a process of thanksgiving."