Reclaimed
"Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints."
-Chief Seattle
The series, 'Reclaimed' explores the fading connection between humans and the natural world and the importance of reconnection. It challenges the viewer to think about the beauty and inevitability of death and decay and how we will all return to nature one day. In today's society, it has become the norm to entrust our bodies to the care of the funeral industry after we pass on.
In the US, the funeral industry brings in about 20 billion dollars annually and is rising as death rates continually rise each year. "Burials in the United States use an absurd amount of chemicals, wood, and steel… 4.3 million gallons of embalming fluid, 20 million board feet of hardwood, 16 million tons of concrete, and 17 thousand tons of copper are used in burials every year." (John). As our bodies continue to decay, 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde seep into the ground and can make their way into our drinking water. Some people think that the solution is cremation, however, cremation has its downsides. The chemicals released from the furnaces also harm our environment and can cause considerable damage to our air. Studies show that one cremation can release almost 600 lbs of carbon dioxide into our air (Mosbergen).
With this series, each photograph displays the serenity of our earth and how we as humans connect with it. The beauty of the transformation of human remains into an integral part of the natural world, is a process that is often taken for granted due to the popularization of sanitized burials and preservation. Moreover, this series urges the viewer to reconnect with our planet and the importance of preserving our world. If we allow nature to reclaim our bodies once we pass, we are offering an important reminder of the necessity to protect our planet. As we consider the impending poignancy of death, we must remember the increasing urgency to reestablish our relationship with the earth. Just as our bodies are returned to the ecosystem, so too must our consciousness be reconnected with the environment.
This series is not a mournful lament for what has already been lost, but rather a celebration of what is to be gained when we acknowledge the intrinsic connection between us as humans and the natural world. I encourage you to look into alternatives to popularized burials and consider naturally returning to the earth. Return Home is a new service that allows one to return to the earth in a more ethical way called Terramation. Terramation is a form of human composting where you are laid to rest in a casket-like vessel, and covered with soil for 30 days. At Return Home, a funeral service is held, where your family can come and decorate your vessel with compostable items so that you may take them with you in the next life. After the decomposing process is complete, your family may take home the soil that you have become and use it. This process is not harmful to the earth, but rather helpful, and is just one small step toward creating a better future for tomorrow.
John. "Ways the funeral industry impacts the environment." www.blog.wyshbox.com/
posts/ways-the-funeral-industry-impacts-the-environment.
Mosbergen, Dominique. "Death Has A Climate Change Problem." Huff Post, 31 Aug.
2021, www.huffpost.com/entry/
green-death-care-practices-water-cremation-natural-organic-reduction_n_6116c41fe4
B0a2603b7db97a.
https://returnhome.com/