21 GRAMS: POETIC JUSTICE
By MARK STURKENBOOM (NL) 2016
In a time where we are able to manipulate life and adjust the way that we look, where the possibilities are endless when it comes to body enhancements, there is one thing we still cannot change: the unavoidable passing of life. Or can we?
This second edition of 21 Grams: Poetic Justice is a memory-box that allows a widow to return to the intimate memories of a lost loved one. After a passing, an absence of intimacy with that person is only one aspect of the pain and grief; this forms the base for 21 Grams.
The urn allows the widow to conserve 21 grams of ashes of the deceased, as is the mythical weight of the human soul, and celebrates an eternal desire. By bringing different nostalgic moments together, like the scent of cologne or their special music, the widow can revisit precious moments of love and intimacy. And if she chooses so, she is able to have an intimate night with her sweetheart again. The cabinet also functions as an acoustic amplifier, and includes a poisoned cigarette: a way to be eternally reunited with her sweetheart again.
21 Grams is not only a way to tempt a person to revive an intimate night but more important; it is a physical affirmation of love against the unavoidable passing of life.
BIO
Mark Sturkenboom graduated with honors from the ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands in 2012. Since then, he has worked as a conceptual designer and artist in his atelier in Utrecht.