Today I sway a bit from music and show you how you can be buried in Ghana, well Love Art London does.
Apparently there is a tradition of being buried in a coffin that reflects your profession (see Love Art Londons description further on).
I wonder what a funeral director would be buried in?
Now was this chap a pilot
Love Art London has an exhibition on at Level 2 Foyer, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX.
It’s a pity I can’t go, too far I’m afraid. Maybe one day. However if you can it seems a very worthwhile event. It looks like you have to be a member though as they say ”this event is for Members Only (20 places)”.
This is there own description and it sounds like a fascinating visit.
When you think of a coffin, what comes to mind? A dark mahogany, lead-lined number with gold plated handles, topped with a bouquet of lilies is probably about right. Think again. In Ghana on the west coast of Africa there’s an old and rich tradition of the deceased being buried in a vibrantly decorated casket that reflects their profession. If you were a fisherman, you get buried in a fish. If you were a fruit farmer, you get buried in a pineapple. If you were a barman, you get buried in a bottle of beer. And in the case of this chap, if you were a pilot, you get buried in, well, a Ghana Airways aeroplane. Each coffin’s hand crafted and beautifully painted by local artisans. In Ghana, it’s believed that when you die, you should have saved the equivalent of six months’ salary for a suitable coffin, and a similar amount for a party involving the entire community. Everything about this process is designed to celebrate the deceased’s life rather than mourn their death. After all, it happens to us all and although scary it’s as natural as being born. So why not go out with a bang?
London’s resident art expert on all things African, Jack Bell, joins us for a special tour of the Southbank Centre’s extraordinary exhibitionBoxed: Fantastic Coffins from Ghana, part of their Festival for the Living. Mortifyingly brilliant.
Also:
Billy Childish
The artist Billy Childish: The Love Art Londons site info here:
- Wednesday 11 January
- 6:30-8pm
- L-13 Light Industrial Workshop, 31 Eyre Street Hill, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 5EW
Holy bejeezers, talk about getting the New Year started with a bang. The legendary Billy Childish (painter, musician, poet, punk and hero of the British art resistance movement) joins us to discuss the quaintly titled exhibition What is ART HATE and Other Cuntish Questions on show at L-13. The gallery, or to use its full name, THE L-13 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL WORKSHOP and PRIVATE LADIES AND GENTLEMENS CLUB for ART, LEISURE and THE DISRUPTIVE BETTERMENT OF CULTURE, will, for the duration of the show, cease to exist as a ‘gallery’ but will instead accommodate “pre-ordained and tightly controlled ‘open days’ where art may sometimes be viewed in and amongst the official ART HATE ARCHIVE.” Splendid.
A weird and wonderful installation including artworks like The Patented Marcel Douchebag Finger of God Painting Machine, Reginald Dada’s Automated Art Hate Horse, The Art Hate Trike, a calendar bearing the words ‘Will you die this year?’ and a collection of signs crafted from tubular metal carrying messages like TRUST YOUR DISSATISFACTION and KUNST MACHT FREI (Art Makes One Free),this is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Billy, who is rumoured to be involved with the show, joins us for an intimate evening of explanation, conversation and poetry reading. Genius.
This event is for Members Only (25 places)
Go check the Love Art London site.
Photos courtesy of the Love Art London site.
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