Christian Gonzenbach

Funeral Rites (for common objects)

Funeral Rites (for common objects), 1998

Ceramic boxes, miscellaneous items

Approx 10 x 15 x 12 cm

Realized in the land of the Rising Sun and echoing the Japanese art of wrapping, Funeral Rites consists of objects, such as batteries, a light bulb, a tube of toothpaste, a VHS, a lighter, etc., that are enclosed in ceramic boxes that act as coffins. Instead of being disposed like most everyday banal things, here the objects – at the end of their use, purpose – are treated to a noble ceremony. As if in the ritual of cremation, they are fired at 1200?C burning off all, including plastic and glass, but the outline traces of the oxidation of metal parts.