Lucile Wong

soundscapes On-site & Online June 7th

Burial River
The ritual of burial is a sacred process. “Bury me in gold.” Gifts, treasures; the objects of most value are given to the dead for their journey. Contraction lies in reliance on the physical to aid in the physical-less journey into the chthonic. The separation from the material possessions of life can be seen by those left living who must clean out the houses of those who have passed away. Houses filled with items, a dedication to the life left behind. Is this different from the tomb of ritual burial? What happens to the items we leave, what do we take with us? Beyond the treasured, might items of less value also be carried with us in death? “Burial River” is based on a conceptualization of this idea and the journey to the underworld. A conceptualization where one must sail down a river composed of all the clutter of physical life. The clatter of a million items owned, used, and or disposed of in one’s life, all returned to in death, in passage to the underworld.