Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Resomating a Musk Rat

What happens to our bodies after death? When choosing Resomation as a burial method, the answer is just as fascinating as it might give you the shivers. With resomation, the human body is dissolved in lye which is a highly alkaline fluid. After being pressure-cooked for a couple of hours, only bones will remain, while every other body tissues will have liquified.

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26-06-2019 Susanne Duijvestein resomating a muskrat - During our Resomation, Saponification and Taxidermy presentations and Designing Death workshops we observed the meaning of death in our society and looked at sustainable scenarios for the future. With talks from Sabrina Franken, Amber Veel, Liza Witte and Susanne Duijvestein.     Anisa Xhomaqi

Resomation is a low-energy, space-saving, and environmentally friendly way to return the compounds of the human body back into the earth's material cycles. The resulting effluent is loaded with nutrients that make it a powerful fertilizer, and the Carbon footprint is significantly smaller than e.g. in Cremation.

However, one catch remains: Fibrous plant-based fabrics – including common clothing materials like cotton – do not dissolve completely in the Resomation process. Hence, animal-based fabrics like silk and wool usually are employed for clothing the deceased for their resomation burial.

With Resomation, Saponification, and Taxidermy, Susanne Duijvestein performed a live resomation.