IN THE EVENT OF MY DEATH
Interactive installation and performance (2018)
Interactive installation and performance (2018)
An exploration of rites of passages and rituals surrounding death, this
piece offers a ceremonial room that acts as a funeral rehearsal but also as a
shared space for contemplating death, loss and life’s transience. The
audience is invited to join the rituals by offering building blocks for a
personalized ceremony.
The project takes its starting point in questions revolving death and loss – how to approach the idea of my own death and eventual funeral, how to mourn all types of loss, and how to use rituals as a means to remain with difficult emotions. These questions are raised in relation to my background in both Scandinavian secular Christian tradition and Taiwanese buddhist/ daoist/confucianism beliefs. How can a pick-and-mix approach to actions and objects be used to create a secular, performative spirituality?
Using components from several cultures and traditions, a staged situation is created where the main element is the audience and their interaction with the room. Recurring materials include the altar, ritual objects, plants, fabric, candles, incense, video projections and live music performances.
The first funeral rehearsal took place in a small town in northern Japan and the second funeral rehearsal in Bergen, Norway. The first event was choreographed as a common ceremony performaned together for all guests at a set time. The second event functioned more as a drop-in ritual with more liberty to individualize the experience.
Live performance in Bergen by Noah Hallström. Live performance in Towada by Michael Warren. Photos in Towada by Alex Queen.
Funeral rehearsal 1: June 2018 @ 14-54, Towada, Japan
Funeral rehearsal 2: Oct 2018 @ Galleri Fisk, Bergen, Norway
The project takes its starting point in questions revolving death and loss – how to approach the idea of my own death and eventual funeral, how to mourn all types of loss, and how to use rituals as a means to remain with difficult emotions. These questions are raised in relation to my background in both Scandinavian secular Christian tradition and Taiwanese buddhist/ daoist/confucianism beliefs. How can a pick-and-mix approach to actions and objects be used to create a secular, performative spirituality?
Using components from several cultures and traditions, a staged situation is created where the main element is the audience and their interaction with the room. Recurring materials include the altar, ritual objects, plants, fabric, candles, incense, video projections and live music performances.
The first funeral rehearsal took place in a small town in northern Japan and the second funeral rehearsal in Bergen, Norway. The first event was choreographed as a common ceremony performaned together for all guests at a set time. The second event functioned more as a drop-in ritual with more liberty to individualize the experience.
Live performance in Bergen by Noah Hallström. Live performance in Towada by Michael Warren. Photos in Towada by Alex Queen.
Funeral rehearsal 1: June 2018 @ 14-54, Towada, Japan
Funeral rehearsal 2: Oct 2018 @ Galleri Fisk, Bergen, Norway
