Monroe Community Church, 1020 Monroe Avenue NW, Grand Rapids MI
My entry for ArtPrize is up at Monroe Community Church, and will be there until October 1, 2023. Entitled (im)mortal coil, it is a representation of a gravesite. The piece presents an opportunity for the viewer to write and leave a memorial card about a loved one who has died in their family, and then take another memorial card that a stranger has left and carry it out into the world with them.
At my job, one of my responsibilities is creating memorial cards for a local funeral home. As l create them, l end up thinking about their lives... what did they experience as they lived, what did they do for a living, what brought them joy in their daily life...
It is humbling to realize that a lifetime of memories will eventually disappear as the people who knew the deceased will themselves succumb to the same fate.
In 100 years, 99.9999999% of us will be completely forgotten. For a moment, we will have the chance to think about a complete stranger who is no longer with us and then reflect on their life.