An Mortician’s Duty

Art is typically a relationship between humans, but as evidenced by Teresa Margolle’s piece, Vaporisation, art can establish a connection between the living and the dead. Similarly, morticians have to act as artists when they embalm the deceased. They have to prepare the dead by making sure they are presentable with makeup and clothing. As it’s the last time their loved ones see them, it is the mortician’s job to make them as nice as possible even if they were inflicted with horrible injuries or looked sickly. Even the funerals themselves are an art process because they are carefully designed to honor the dead.