Shades of embodiment, unravelling the thread of life : an exploration of the sacred associated with death and dying in a historical and cultural context

摘要

There are numerous variations in the ways of dying, and dealing with death andudgrief. The sheer universality of the experience produces the knowledge that we areudall deeply connected and begs to question and define human nature and the humanudcondition, which is universal across all cultures. Embodied in ritual or religiousudceremonies of all ethnic groups, certain objects and materials are believed to containuda form of presence and, through mythology, spiritualism and symbolism, becomeudmetaphors of death and life itself. The project Shades of Embodiment materialisesudthrough a series of forms used to signify the body. The body is used because itudhouses consciousness and is the piece left behind when we die.udThe concept that the 'sacred' and the body are embedded together is reflected inudmaterials and rituals, created and used in concurrence with the body. This conceptudprovides the framework of this study. Various cultural beliefs are interpreted throughudmaking and communicated through the sculptural work which transforms meaningudinto materiality as well as transforming materiality into meaning, through the use ofudbinaries such as temporary and permanent, routine and ritual, natural to man madeudmaterials and, ultimately, life and death. A wide variety of materials have beenudexplored including paper, wax, hessian, plastic, cotton and mud, as well asudaluminium, lead, pressed tin and dust. Experienced together en masse each bodyudfigure is brought into a presence all its own. Together they become physicaludemblems of life itself, vessels for living. As objects, they are personal relics thatudresonate with the passage through daily life. The scale of these figures echoes human embodiment: they are life size. They areudlike us in order to speak of our tenuous connection and disconnection with theudthread of life, and to conjure uncomfortable associations with Freud's 'uncanny.' Theudplacement of these body figures and the connections they manifest is reminiscent ofudcatacombs, Egyptian mummies and the figures of Pompeii. The gallery spaceudbecomes a space between life and death, a psychological, private space. It is hopedudthat viewers leave their fear at the door and transcend their own dark spaceudbetween. Religious faith may be lost for some, and yet presence may be felt throughuddaily life, the places where a higher force should be. The installation, Shades ofudEmbodiment reflects on this missing element in human experience.