What a death made us do

Dates

2021 - 2023
Author

Juno Joo
Locations Seoul, City of London

'What a death made us do' is a project about the rituals and behaviours that humans developed when a death calls upon us. I worked in a continuous line from youth, adulthood, sickness, death and after death. More precisely the beliefs surrounding the afterlife and the way we do when someone we love passes away. I reflect not only on life and death but also on things which blur the boundaries between life and death.

Every year, my family celebrates my grandfather’s gijesa. The word ‘gi’ means the anniversary of one’s death and it means respect, so it has two thoughts and meanings. A memorial service to think about the dead and to share our inner feelings. To share things that we could not say while he was alive, to cook food we could not cook enough of, and to lament for him and to ask how he is doing. We put my grandfather in a memorial park, we visit the park several times a year, and we feel guilty when the grave is covered in grass. The belief that our deceased grandfather still exists, the hope that we can live together even with just their souls, that that person is with us; it all began from us considering them to still be with us.

Picture of my grandmother and grandfather in their youth.

Picture of my family and me wearing traditional Korean folk masks. These masks were used to cover their emotions and represent their social status.

Staged after-death ritual called talsang. This is a traditional Korean event in which we burn the personal objects of the loved ones who passed away. We do this in order let the person go definitely by burning all links between them this world.

What a death made us do by Juno Joo

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