Our Death

Our Death is an immersive exhibition process about mortality that was hosted by Galeria Dizajn / BWA Wrocław in June 2023. It was the final event before the gallery was closed for almost two years for major reconstruction.
Visitors could witness the construction of a coffin and its transformation into a unique piece of art. Guided by me as an end-of-life doula they could experience lying in the coffin and contemplating mortality. The project addresses the lack of supportive space in our society for the human experience of death, loss and grief.

At some point in the future, it will be the last day of your life.
We don’t know when and how you will die, but we are certain it will happen.
Can you imagine leaving this world with a smile upon your face?

In a culture that represents death mostly in the context of tragedy, violence, and catastrophe, it is difficult to see the end of life as a peaceful event. What if we were to not only accept death’s inevitability, but also embrace it as a valuable part of our lives?

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I Creation

The performance started in the empty gallery space. I carried wood panels and tools into the exhibition space. Together with staff members and visitors, I constructed a simple coffin. The visitors and gallery team used brushes and paint to decorate the coffin. It transformed from a functional item into a collective piece of art.

II Contemplation

The visitors of the gallery could lay down in the coffin and experience the thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations coming up in this position. During certain hours each day I was present to guide them through a meditation on transience. I invited them to take a look at their life from the perspective of its end.

III Cremation

The flowers, candles and other objects used during the performance are placed into the coffin, which was taken to the crematory. The urn with the ashes returned to the gallery and is part of its permanent exhibition since its reopening in January 2026.

Episode 5 of the #curatortalks series about the exhibition “Our Death.”
11–25 June 2023
Dizajn BWA Wrocław, Świdnicka 2–4 Street

Film and editing: Jerzy Wypych
Concept and performance: Anja Franczak
Spiral and urn: Razalina Busel
Curatorial collaboration: Joanna Synowiec
Gallery program: Katarzyna Roj
Production: Monika Muszyńska, Joanna Sokalska
Editing: Tomasz Koczoń, Marcin Pecyna, Michał Perucki
Promotion: Joanna Glinkowska
Visual identity: Kuba Maria Mazurkiewicz
Exhibition design: Razalina Busel, Kuba Maria Mazurkiewicz
Scents: Bottanicum – Monika Opieka-Nowak
Audience collaboration: Daria Chraścina, Zofia Straczycka, Magdalena Weber
Co-organizer: The Institute of a Good Death
Organizer: BWA Wrocław Galleries of Contemporary Art
Partners: Niebieski Funeral Home, Kamińscy Funerals, RISK Made in Warsaw, KT Kwiatowe Studio Katarzyna Teper-Dziendziel
Media partners: Notes na 6 Tygodni, Kontakt, Więź