Funeral Program.
Natasja.
:::
about the piece.
Natasja describes this work, "In the days between the birth of my daughter, Madicken, and her funeral, I made 15 of these programs, to give to the friends and family, who were attending the funeral. I have 1 left to keep. Some people hadn't seen Madicken before the funeral, and I wanted them to see, that I wasn't just putting a tiny white casket in the ground, with my hopes and dreams, but a little person was inside it, my baby. I thought, it would feel more real to them, if they "knew" Madicken. 14 of the programs looked exactly the same, but I made one different from the rest, for a family member, who had requested not to see photos of my daughter. Instead of the photos, it simply had the pink dotted paper, like the kind in the bottom. While I am glad I made these, it still, almost 10 months later, gives me grief, to know that I "hid" my beautiful baby away, and that a family member did not wish to see her. This was the first big confrontation, with "normal people's" fear of getting to close. The photos are of the front and back, and inside is of course the actual program and songs that were played."
about the artist.
Natasja lives in Denmark. She lost her daughter, Madicken, August 2, 2009. She died due to blood clots in her placenta, and was born still at 25 weeks gestation.
I'm glad you were able to make Madicken real to other people by sharing her photos. I've had to bury two little babies and I definitely got the impression that people didn't realize that they were real people. I regret that I don't have any photos good enough to show people. Photos have a way of shocking people into understanding the reality of what you've lost.
ReplyDeleteThe program is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt is such an intimate thing to do for your daughter, the program is beautiful. I am sorry you had to hide your precious daughter from that relative.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful program. I posted pictures on facebook of my daughter because I felt the same way...I wanted people to understand that she was a little person. I'm sorry your family member had the nerve to ask you to NOT see photos of your daughter, how sad for both of you.
ReplyDeleteSo beautifully sad, HUGS
ReplyDeleteANg