the anatomy of a funeral, 2024
220x82x52cm
I created an installation piece “The Anatomy of a Funeral” that is centered around my own staged funeral. Based on the culture of photographing the deceased in Estonia and the depiction of the departed in art by selected authors, I created a photo series where I am in the role of the person in the coffin. The photo series is accompanied by video clips documenting the rehearsal of the performative funeral day, showing the process of creating the practical work. The topic of my thesis was inspired by my real-life experience when, as a teenager, I earned pocket money by maintaining graves in the local cemetery. A few years later, I took on additional jobs at the pub run by my parents, where I occasionally helped organise funeral repasts. It was always interesting to observe what the relatives chose for the menu, but the classic rotation of pie-broth-pork roast-kringel remained dominant on the table. The kringel that was always placed on the table was listed on the order form’s price list as “Festive Kringel.”