Funeral Party for the Living

Funeral Party for the Living took place on January 1, 2011. It is one of several ritual projects I utilize in my art practice as an ongoing exercise to explore healing and death rituals. The audience participates in actions encouraging realizations of the brevity of life and aiding in connecting to the present.

Front of the 14 Pews church with mourning wreaths on the doors.

View from behind the desk of the "Eulogy Writing Deaconesses." During the visitation before the funeral, a eulogy writing service was available for attendees needing assistance or last minute advice.

The fashionably mournful.

A "Eulogy for Art" was read.

A brass band lead by Nick Cooper.


The back yard funeral pyre where participants said good-bye to such things as addictions, jobs, bras, lovers, and hemeroids, among other things.


The funeral food potluck included foods such as ambrosia salad, funeral pie, severed arm cake, cooper coins for the afterlife, and sweet funeral wine.

All images courtesy of 14 Pews.

Funeral Party

Entwined

Entwined is a performance of hair giving. It was performed on November 19 (the Friday before Thanksgiving) with a group I have worked with as a Healing Artist for approximately a year and a half. To bound our relationship even tighter, I offered everyone in the group a lock of hair they could cut off and keep as a memento of me and a passing on of power.


Above: We are discussing Victorian traditions of hair saving, exchanging and hair work. In some cultures and stories the sharing of hair is a sharing of power. Hair is also significant as a part of the body which will not rot.


Reading 19th century sayings such as "when this lock of hair you do see, think of me."




Above: A selection is made from the nape of the neck.




Above: A participant gives me a lock of their hair.

Photography courtesy of Crystal Owens.

Water Break

Water Break: pick-up truck, tarp, water, release
Action took place at El Rincon Social in Houston, Texas on Sunday, November 14.

Truck before:


Unidentified woman near water hose/umbilical cord as the truck is being filled with water.



Water Break:


Red Sheet placenta was released as well.

Rebirth

"Rebirth" is a ritual event that took place at El Rincon Social on Sunday, November 14. A truck bed filled with blessed fluid was utilized for participants to be buried/submerged in and then reborn as part of a ritual of beginning anew.

The rebirthing process...












Photos courtesy of Michael Brims and Emily Sloan.

Rebirth / Breaking of the Water

"Rebirth" is a ritual event to take place at El Rincon Social on Sunday, November 14 from 5pm to 10pm. A truck bed filled with blessed fluid will be on hand into which participants may be buried/submerged and reborn as part of a ritual of beginning anew.

The evening will end with "The Breaking of the Water" from the truck onto the earth.

This event is open to participants and observers.

Living Eulogy/Wake Workshop with School of Latitudes

Hair that won’t rot even when I’m gone…objects that I can’t take with me yet I mourn when they are lost…comfort in funeral food…the writing of living eulogies to explore being alive…and planning living wakes of ritual, honor, celebration and wonder.

Wake is an interactive performance project comprised of explorations of death rituals including the writing of (living) eulogies and hosting of (living) wakes. The mission of the project is to encourage participants to (but not limited to) review life through the contemplation of death and to connect to the present.

On Thursday, September 16, eleven members of labotanica’s School of Latitudes participated in a private living eulogy workshop at the home of one of the latituders. Presented are images from that event…










For more information, or to participate in a Wake-related event, please contact Emily at emily@emilysloan.com