Funeral Food

Saturday, September 25 was the last day of labotanica's School of Latitudes. For the occasion, I prepared self-serve, pot-luck style funeral food (a.k.a. casseroles, cake) along with a wall of photographs from the Eulogy/Wake Workshop held privately for the latituders on Thursday, September 16. The wall was painted pink and had mirrors covered with a black cloth referencing my research into Victorian mourning rituals. Mirrors were covered to prevent the deceased's soul from becoming trapped in them and to prevent mourners from seeing their own reflections and possibly leading to their own demise.

ABOUT WAKE: Wake is an interactive performance project comprised of explorations of death rituals including the writing of (living) eulogies and hosting of (living) wakes. The mission of the project is to encourage participants to (but not limited to) review life through the contemplation of death and to connect to the present.

Waves at The Children's Aquarium in Dallas, Texas

These wave-like sculptures of mine were installed last week at The Children's Aquarium in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas.

Ariane Roesch and Christoph Hüppi, RJ Curatorial Experiences, Inc.

Ariane Roesch and Christoph Hüppi Debut New Work in a Two-Person Exhibition curated by RJ Experiences, Inc.

On view at The Kenmore, Box 13 Artspace, September 18- October 21, 2010.

Above: RJ Curatorial Experiences, Inc. (Rachel Hooper and Jonathan Leech) installing their exhibition.

Ariane Roesch installing.

"More Heat." by Ariane Roesch

"More Heat" details.



Paintings from Christoph Hüppi's "Get to the Point" series.


Hüppi details.


Christoph Hüppi and Ariane Roesch. (above)

Opening reception on Saturday, September 18, 2010.



A special thank you to Jonathan Leach, Rachel Hooper, Christoph Hüppi, and Ariane Roesch.

Living Eulogy/Wake Workshop with School of Latitudes

Hair that won’t rot even when I’m gone…objects that I can’t take with me yet I mourn when they are lost…comfort in funeral food…the writing of living eulogies to explore being alive…and planning living wakes of ritual, honor, celebration and wonder.

Wake is an interactive performance project comprised of explorations of death rituals including the writing of (living) eulogies and hosting of (living) wakes. The mission of the project is to encourage participants to (but not limited to) review life through the contemplation of death and to connect to the present.

On Thursday, September 16, eleven members of labotanica’s School of Latitudes participated in a private living eulogy workshop at the home of one of the latituders. Presented are images from that event…










For more information, or to participate in a Wake-related event, please contact Emily at emily@emilysloan.com

Living Eulogy Workshop

A private Living Eulogy/Spilling the Dirt/The Story So Far/Last Bio You’ll Ever Have to Write! Workshop will be held at latituder Carrie’s home on Thursday, September 16 starting at 6pm. The workshop will be conducted by Emily Sloan for the latituders of the School of Latitudes. Afterwards, we will have a pot luck dinner (of course!). If you are unable to bring food, don’t worry, its not a Judgement Day party (we won’t hold it against you).

Wash Day

Wash is a performance about cleansing, ritual and intimacy. A full day at Gallery 1724 in Houston, Texas was devoted to the washing of hair including anointing with oils. There were twenty participants and numerous observers. It was a nicely paced day of washing and talking. During Wash, conversations included memories of September 11, 2001, memories of having their hair washed by their mothers, and the love and pampering of having their hair washed by someone else. We also discussed comparisons to foot washing and baptism, vulnerability, and the intimacy of touch, particularly to the head.

The performance was documented through photographs and sound.




Above photo courtesy of Dean Liscum and Sophie Simons.



Photos courtesy of: Heather Korb, Dean Liscum, Merilee Minshew, Sophie Simons, and Emily Sloan.

Floor before, with foils...
Floor after, foils with imprint from traffic...

Wash---one day only, September 11, 2010

Wash is a one day performance of the washing of hair to take place on Saturday, September 11, 2010 from 9am to 5pm at Gallery 1724, 1724 Bissonnet St. (between Dunlay and Woodhead), Houston, Texas, 77005.

Wash will be performed by Emily Sloan and the participating audience.

“It is the ritual situation which makes the hair “powerful”, not the hair which makes the ritual powerful.” --E. R. Leach

This event is free and open to the public.