OF CHANGE : DEATH IN THE MIDWEST
Work selected for the 2020 ISU APEX Art Exhibition
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We are inherently changing every moment of the day. Change is not linear, it is cyclical and ever present. The work featured is a green burial site located in the Midwest where locals are encouraged to bury their loved ones in a biodegradable casket to return their bodies back to the landscape. Over time the green burials bring nutrients back into the soil, allowing for regrowth and regeneration. The repetitive movement of change is built into our DNA most significantly in the cycle in which we decompose. The site in which our bodies decompose is a large factor in the process. Underground the body has time to replenish the soil with nutrients. It is time to devote our bodies back to the landscape with the least harmful process to regenerate the future.
An opportunity is arising to return our bodies into the landscape and create a dialog towards a more environmentally friendly burial process in the U.S. Midwest region. Nonprofits such as the Midwest Green Burial Society are working to advocate for natural burial processes and raising awareness of the environmental impacts of conventional burials. This option not only changes the environmental impact of death, but also the mourning and grieving process. The process of death does not signify the end, in fact it is simply the beginning of something new.