Wed 12 Sept 2007 – Fri 4 Jan 2008
This was the first major UK solo show by interdisciplinary artist Margareta Kern. These powerful and intimate photgraphs were a personal response to a tradition in Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina of women preparing clothes for their own burial. Intrigued and deeply moved by this custom, Margareta set out to explore this ritual further by making a journey back to the region she grew up in. Her images revealed a deep engagement with the women she met, whose lives have been shaped by historical and political turbulence, raising questions about the wider social context surrounding death.
Clothes for Death is an ongoing research-based visual arts project funded by the Arts Council England Grants for the Arts scheme. Margareta posted her thoughts on the a-n blog.
The exhibition was held in conjunction with the 8th International Conference on the Social Context of Death, Dying and Disposal.