MONUMENT MORI - bringing life back to death Jackie Doyle, Tim Mulhall, & Bonnie Yu
MONUMENT MORI
Today in America the average burial cost between $6,000 and $12,000. Death has become a commodity, in which it is becoming increasingly harder and harder to be poor and die. As death becomes more extravagant, with planning practices wherein people can purchase the post-death treatment that they want to receive, cemeteries have become the product of status symbols and display, instead of a location for loved ones to connect with the deceased. This proposal rejects the contemporary class-based approach to the representation of death and instead proposes a way to connect the living and the dead. The ashes and bodies of the deceased will be used to help nourish the growth of trees. The cremated remains of each individual will be buried and planted along with the roots of a growing tree. Over time, the plot of land will become populated by the deceased and the cemetery will become a forest. The forest will be an indication of a collective, shared condition as well as an organization of commemorative markers. Cemeteries will no longer be sad, cold places; but will facilitate the process of mourning and remembrance through progressive growth. The finite, tragic condition of the field of graves will be replaced with the continuous development of new life. We each will become a tree in the forest, reinvigorating the climate that we helped destroy. Bringing back life into the land that we have removed it from, offering opportunity for the betterment of our earth. Our attitude towards deforestation will be forced to change as the removal of trees will be almost like disturbing or disrespecting the dead. We will dismantle the existing hierarchy of death and remembrance to create a cemetery for life.
dying at home $4,760 dying in the hospital $32,379 dying in hospice $17,845 dying in a nursing facility $21,221 dying in the ER $7,969 death certificate $14 funeral fees $2,195 transfer $350 printed memorial $175 flowers $250 embalming $750 other preparations of the body $250 casket $2,500 hearse $340 cremation fire $350 cremation casket $1,000 urn $275 vault/grave liner $1,495 use of facility for viewings $425 body preparation $255 use of facility for funeral $500 totals (-place of death) cremation $7,284 burial $9,499
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Death has now become another monetized scheme to manipulate mourners seeking to pay “proper respect� to their loved ones. Our proposal seeks to dismantle this system, as it is unethical and has become meaningless. We seek to create a new ritual and believe that returning meaning and significance to death is crucial. We hope to use this new representation to give back to the earth and humanity while fostering a better feeling of connection with our loved ones, both past and present. Our proposal proposes that in death, we can return bodies to the earth that has sustained us in our lives. Our bodies can be converted into soil that can help to reforest the earth. The soil from bodily remains can help to improve the health of the earth by sequestering carbon. As well, the Natural Organic Reduction method requires 1/8 the energy of conventional burial or cremation, decreasing the carbon footprint of the process of death.
THE PROCESS: from body to soil Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) is the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains into soil.
PHASE 1: 1 day Human remains are laid in a vessel, surrounded by natural material such as straw, wood chips, alfalfa, etc. The remains and organic materials, which contain naturally occuring microbes, are mixed with warm air, are periodically turned in this composting process which concludes when the remains are reduced to soil. PHASE 2: 4-6 weeks The remains and organic materials, which contain naturally occuring microbes, are mixed with warm air, and periodically turned. In this composting process, the microbes break everything down on the molecular level, resulting in the formation of a nutrient-dense soil from the remains. PHASE 3: 2-3 weeks At the end of the 4-6 weeks, each body will have created one cubic yard of soil amendment, which is then emoved from the vessel. It is then allowed to cure for 2-3 weeks, where the remains can continue to be aerated. PHASE 4: 1 day The cured soil retains the nutrients from our bodies, and the soil can now be used to plant a tree, returning life to the process of death.
grief
acceptan
nce
nourishment
interaction
lif
fe
growth
FROM DEFORESTED LAND...
BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER IN DEATH, BRING LIFE BACK TO EARTH
...TO FLOURISHING SITES OF REMEMBERANCE
MONUMENT MORI