As part of an ACE-funded project, I had the honour and opportunity to work with St Catherine’s Hospice and one of their patients, Sarah, who asked me to create a shroud inspired by a mixed-media textile piece she had made over 30 years ago.
I chose to document this journey for several reasons: to acknowledge and honour Sarah’s courage and her desire to educate others about the choices available at the end of life; to share my commitment and skills as an artist and shroud maker; and to challenge the idea that we have no agency when planning our own, or our loved ones’, funeral or burial rituals. To see details of this project, including a conversation with the staff of the British museum, please check my posts here:
Sarah’s original work was made from calico-covered slate panels, each embellished with Egyptian deities and deconstructed hieroglyphs. This work inspired the soft outer cover of her two-part shroud. Her body will be wrapped in a simpler silk and cotton inner shroud, adorned with cyanotype prints of prayers and photographs of her family and important moments from her life.
I was incredibly fortunate not to be constrained by a short timescale for this commission. However, shrouds can be made with very little time and on a modest budget, for both natural burials and cremations, while still acknowledging and celebrating a life.
Through conversations with Sarah, her husband, and Selena King, Spiritual Support Lead at St Catherine’s Hospice, it was deeply moving to witness how this process supported both Sarah’s wellbeing and that of her partner.
I am profoundly grateful to Sarah and her family, to Selena, and to the team at the British Museum for sharing their knowledge of the imagery used in Sarah’s original work. This project was supported by Arts Council England as part of a Luna Arts grant to develop creative projects and workshops that help ease conversations around death and dying.
