This presentation explores the cemetery as a site not only of remembrance, but of material transformation and ecological design. Drawing from my artistic research thesis Dressing for Decay, I investigate how garments made from biodegradable, biofabricated, and protein-based materials can actively participate in decomposition processes within natural burial contexts. Rather than treating the body as inert and the garment as a container, the work proposes the concept of the Garment-as-a-Body — a multispecies assemblage designed to decompose alongside the human it embraces. Through iterative field testing in a self-designed Burial Observatory, I developed textiles from bacterial cellulose, algae, and waste-derived binders to explore their interaction with soil, microbes, and humidity. These material trials were informed by both scientific decomposition metrics and ritual considerations, such as touch, scent, and mourning symbolism. The outcomes reveal not only the material viability of regenerative burialwear, but also its potential to shift how we understand memorialisation, grief, and bodily return in cemetery settings. Positioned at the intersection of design, anthropology, and death studies, this research reconfigures the cemetery as a co-creative environment—where garments do not preserve, but participate. This work contributes to broader conversations around posthuman deathcare, natural organic reduction, and the emergence of ecological aesthetics in memorial practices.
Alba Arillo García 2025
Aalto University, Finland
Dressing for decay: reimagining the cemetery through regenerative burialwear [v]
Events
The Cemetery Research Group runs two events a year: in May and in November. Follow the links and send in an abstract