“I, James Powderly, of sound mind and body, upon the unfortunate event of my death, wish to become a firework and explode at the edge of space.”
“You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.”
– Marshall Mathers
Dead people are the most rapidly growing community around the globe and on the net. While the mortality rate is decreasing in most of the developed world, the "tribe of the dead" continues to increase its membership exponentially each year. Estimates of the "currently dead" range from 6 to 106 billion, and of the 6.7 billion people currently living on Earth, it is estimated that 100% of them will eventually try dying. Yet, despite its popularity, death remains a subject most people are unable or unwilling to talk about and preparations for death typically go unconsidered. Spiritualists are unanimous in declaring that the only adequate preparation for death is a righteous life, but pragmatists prescribe only a good set of instructions. DIY/RIP is my attempt to deal with the ultimate reality of my mortality. It is an instruction set detailing how I would like my cremated remains to be mixed with explosives, lifted via a high-altitude balloon into near space and exploded. It is a living will, with a fire safety disclaimer, and an attempt to popularize the idea of creating funeral performance how-tos.
RIP/DIY is part of the E-TRIBAL ART project.
E-TRIBAL ART is a project of AltArt Foundation and British Council under British Council's Creative Collaborations Arts Programme. The project is funded by the Romanian Cultural Institute through Cantemir Programme.
Project partners include C6.org, European Alternatives, GMT+2 Foundation and InterSpace, BG
Many thanks to: Hojun Song and Project Icarus for all the open source help and support.
