DEATH literacy advocate, artist, and librarian Hayley West wants to open up the conversation about our own mortality this Dying to Know Day.<\/p>\n
The campaign, created by Australian organisation The GroundSwell Project and recognised on 8 August, encourages people to discuss death and Ms West\u2019s free online event, titled Feed Me to the Roses, focuses on environmentally conscious body disposal methods.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are more environmentally conscious in life now and they just haven\u2019t thought about what happens to bodies when they\u2019re dead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the idea that you can still be contributing to the planet in a positive way when you\u2019re dead is a really lovely idea that many people just haven\u2019t considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother aspect of it is that it\u2019s just another way to open up the conversation to a whole bunch of people that haven\u2019t thought about death at all or don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her Zoom presentation and open discussion will share information on natural burials, water cremation and human composting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything I do as death literacy advocate is all about having the conversation about death even with one person. That one person will go back to somebody in their community and talk to them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms West also hosts Death Cafes, or public gatherings where people can meet for an informal chat about death, and her diverse art practice most often involves an element of social engagement around the subject.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have this ongoing project where I collect handmade ceramic vessels from op shops or that people give me, and I make lids for them and turn them into cremation urns. I give them a new life.\u201d<\/p>\n