Curator Brianna L. Hernández believes death work is part of life, and knows artists have always had a hand in it. Under this guiding principle, she drew from her expertise as an end-of-life doula and artist to present a rich exploration of art’s crucial role in funerary and deathcare work in Reclaiming Death: Art, Ritual, and Advocacy at the End-of-Life.
Beginning with the Great Pyramid at Giza and continuing through to the work of contemporary artists, Hernández mines the rich legacy of how humanity has always processed grief and honored the dead through art. In her conversation with Hyperallergic Editor-in-Chief Hrag Vartanian, she further illuminated the connection between art and deathcare practices, which waned during periods of colonialism and industrialization. A need for sensitive, culturally specific deathcare has led to a revival in recent years, and Hernández traces its relationship to contemporary artists like Denise Silva-Dennis (Shinnecock), Eliana Yoneda, and others.
Her sensitively curated exhibition and essays are a moving testament to this long history, which lives on today.
