During the opening night of the Ik R.I.P. exhibition Melanie worked on a coffin together with artist Matthew-Lutz Kinoy from New York City. With the use of colored paper, photographs, fireworks, cut-outs and other material a festively decorated coffin was created on the spot. Dressed up as colored shamans, they made designing a coffin into a happy ritual.
For the workshop Melanie Bonajo will talk to the surviving relatives to come up with a suitable way to decorate, cover and embellish the coffin. Material can consist out of objects, collections, cut-outs, collages and more. Melanie uses the metaphor of making a journey to describe the process of creating a coffin. Designing becomes an experience in which the coffin functions as a map or treasure chest filled with trophies, love, stories, beauty and personal history. Everything goes and everyone is welcome to join in.
Melanie Bonajo graduated from the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2004. She works as an artist/photographer and exhibits abroad and in the Netherlands. Spirituality is a recurring theme in her work. In 2008 she organized ''Mediummatic, five days of alternative communication' at Mediamatic together with Kinga Kielczynska. In the same year they traveled to Poland to investigate a secluded cult living in the woods for an art project. Currently Melanie is a resident at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam.
For more information on the Coffin for your Beloved workshop, please contact Michel Langendijk or Tanja Baudoin of Mediamatic, 020-6389901. After office hours you can reach Michel Langendijk at 06-40963010.
