Death, for many, is Grief, an Unknown Mystery, an Ending worthy of fear. Yet for others death was not only the beginning of the next journey, but an opportunity to showcase their culture's skills in transforming what would be the fleeting sparks of life into objects and stories of relative permanence. Things like death masks, effigies, and written or oral folk legends have the potential for extending a single soul's life far beyond their original bounds, continuing as long as humanity's tapestry of memory can last.

 

I Will Meet You On the Other Side of the River is inspired by these original questions; what happens when we die, and how do we immortalize those who are gone? Taking into account centuries of history and craft, this death shroud was decorated in iconography associated with folk stories, their lessons and warnings, in order to explore what is perhaps a hidden but shared understanding of what happens when we pass on. Calling on Elizabethan effigies, I constructed a boned stays and petticoat adorned with image transfers, creating an art object that can not only be admired, but worn, allowing the wearer to physically experience the prolonging of life through craft, tradition, and story. Using the process as a meditation, I allowed myself to become immersed in the stories, omens, and archetypes of mortality. 

 

The Death Shroud is comprised of a 16th century inspired stays and petticoat. Made out of beige linen, this piece was sewed by both hand and machine. Images were transferred from inkjet prints and were original digital photographs, some were edited using photoshop image manipulation.