Death Arrangements

MAKING OF

All aspects of the artwork were created by hand.  Two sheets of ply were purchased from a salvage yard and turned into a plinth.  The sculpture consisted of a hand-constructed ply box with the flowers stitched onto a fabric covering.  

Garbage bins used as makeshift saw horses to cut down the plywood for the plinth construction

making of the plinth

making of the box

finished box structure

Flowers stitched onto fabric covering 

progress shot of magnolia flower

frangipani flower

progress shot of lily

Sculpture

The sculpture consisted of 114 handmade fabric flower and took over 100 hours to create.

DIDACTIC WRITE UP

Death Arrangement is a sculptural work with accompanying audio. Hand-constructed fabric flowers appear in a cube formation, alongside a looped audio component of the artist’s spoken word. Constructed from reclaimed fabrics, the mostly white flowers, void of bright colour, emulate blooms chosen in death, to display, gift, and lay on top of the dead. The use of fabric in the work creates a paradox, removing the natural impermanence of living flowers, to experiment with time and decay. The labour-intensive, repetitive stitch-work honours the joy of process and opposes craft as merely decorative. The work demonstrates the use of accessible materials and skills passed down through generations. Fabric (an inherent soft and tactile material) is further chosen to imitate the delicate and fragile form of flowers. The cube shape has been selected to represent Harding’s deceased father, a motif repeatedly used within her practice. The spoken word component, adds a further personal layer to the work. The backing sound was captured inside a decaying tree in the forest. The recording was made at the location of the last hike, Harding took with her father, before his death.

ACCOMPANYING TEXT

Death Arrangement Poetry Text

Along with the artwork an accompanying text was made available for purchase during the exhibition.  It consisted of poetry that addressed either flowers, death or both. During the exhibition opening, sections were performed live.

Spoken Word

The transcript of the recorded audio.

On the snowy mountain in japan
almost over the cliff I realised
this was the last seconds of my
life and I paused, not wanting to hurl
my body out of the car, I
stayed, in calm disposition
Sheer beauty of existence

afterwards the mushrooms linked me to nature
vanishing all existential dread
to tell me something

connectedness of life
beyond physical parameters
all things alive, always
you can easily
reach out to your ancestors

and near your body
the soft expanses of petals
floral decapitations
in intermittent stages of unfurl
ruffled petals gifted in excessive
offerings, thrown on your coffin
to wilt and decay, alongside,
with you

but somehow you remain
here
with
me

We are so sorry for your loss, best to use bright coloured flowers sparingly. Carnations, and orchids, hydrangeas and tulips included in floral tributes for funeral services. Rest peacefully with calla lillies a symbol of magnificent beauty. Baby’s breath reputed to indicate heart and innocence.
White roses for remembrance, with deepest sympathy, the white star lily, forever in our hearts chrysanthemum as a token for honour, tightly compressed blooms express death and my father.

–
Want to see what else I do? Come peek over on my insta or grab a freebie when you sign up to my newsletter below 🙂 🙂