The catalyst for the Preservation Series begun in 2018 as an ongoing curiousity about our relationship to preservation. There is a tradition to preserve and ferment food to extend it’s edibility and health benefits. Billions of dollars are spent annually on ointments, devices, treatments and services to preserve the body and extend its longevity, project the expiration date. Meanwhile, we fill these sustained days with an ever increasing number of things to do, places to be, tasks to accomplish, ways to multi-task and ‘be connected.’ How often do we connect inwards, and to life itself without the rushing around and juggling five things at once? What is it to be in sustained stillness?

Embalmed in honey, salt; wrapped in cotton muslin under a partially-embroidered quilt (because we are rarely fully prepared to meet death at the door and usually leave unfinished bits behind), I lay in stillness for 7 1/2 hours. During this time, microphones recorded the sound of my breath and my heartbeat.