Dressing the dead body
Nordström, Birgitta (2016)
The Donner Institute, Åbo Akademi
2016
Kuvaus
Birgitta Nordström, Academy of Design and Craft University of Gorhenburg
Birgitta Nordström is an artist and weaver. Since 2008 she has been an associate professor at the Academy of Design and Crafts (HDK) at the University of Gothenburg. In parallel with her lecturing she works on commissions for public and sacred spaces. Her current research focuses on textiles, rites and death – especially woven textiles for funerals and moments of loss.
Birgitta Nordström is an artist and weaver. Since 2008 she has been an associate professor at the Academy of Design and Crafts (HDK) at the University of Gothenburg. In parallel with her lecturing she works on commissions for public and sacred spaces. Her current research focuses on textiles, rites and death – especially woven textiles for funerals and moments of loss.
Tiivistelmä
My current research focuses on textiles and rites, especially woven textiles for funerals and moments of loss. What active role can a textile such as an infant-wrapping cloth or a funeral pall play in the mourning process? This article will describe the development and current questions that address 1) the infant-wrapping cloth – the textile that is used to dress, clothe, or cover the dead body with particular attention to the question of infant mortality and the material practices of care. 2) The funeral pall that is used at funerals, draped over the coffin or as a body cover at hospital viewing rooms. One example to be presented is Kortedalakrönika (‘The Chronicle of Kortedala’), a collaborative project, woven for a church in Gothenburg. My work is based in artistic practice but opens up several scientific and existential questions.