DEATH
ARRANGEMENTS
Completed: 2024
Detail/Materials: Thrifted materials: fabric, thread, beads (33 x 33 x 33 cm)
audio (1:38 minutes looped)
Death Arrangements is a sculptural work with accompanying audio.
114 hand-constructed fabric flowers appear in a cube formation, alongside a looped audio component of the artist’s spoken word. Constructed from reclaimed fabrics, the mostly white flowers (void of bright colour) emulate blooms chosen in death, to be displayed, gifted, and laid on top of the dead. The use of fabric in the work creates a paradox, removing the natural impermanence of living flowers, to experiment with time and decay.
The labour-intensive, repetitive stitch-work honours the joy of process and opposes craft as merely decorative. The work uses accessible materials and skills passed down through generations. Fabric (an inherently soft, tactile material) is chosen to imitate the delicate, fragile forms of flowers.
The cube shape has been selected to represent Harding’s deceased father, a motif repeatedly used within her practice. The backing sound was captured inside a decaying tree in the forest. The recording was made at the location of the last hike, Harding took with her father, before his death.
The making of and final documentation of the work – HERE
