Continuum

Long description

Continuum is a circular design project for natural burial, currently based in the UK. The project offers a timely and necessary alternative to the wide-reaching and toxic practices of the death industry. Western disposition practices are the result of an individualistic and anthropocentric approach to life and death. Conventional burial and cremation enable ‘death denial,’ which manifests in attempts to preserve the physical body–a futile endeavour that ultimately harms both us and our planet.

Continuum is a bio-material cocoon that celebrates the beauty of the life cycle, offering an elegant and sustainable alternative to existing burial products. The project focuses on the liminality of funeral ritual. It proposes a shift away from a linear, terminal approach, and towards a cyclical mindset and return to the collective. The cocoon consists of two removable, bio-material ‘wings’ that ceremonially reveal the body, elegantly adorned in biodegradable garments. The algae-based material contains certifiably native and site-specific seeds. After the body and base board are buried, the wings are placed atop the grave. As they decompose, the seeds sprout native wildflowers, rewilding the burial grounds. The natural garden completes the journey from individual to collective, as the body below becomes part of the woodland ecosystem.

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