By Callum Ludwig
Tender Funerals Greater Eastern Melbourne and a young local artist have paired up to host October’s exhibition in the Warburton Waterwheel gallery.
The exhibition involves a series of talks and workshops exploring end-of-life care and funeral planning held in the gallery, accompanied by a display of works from Little Yarra Steiner School student Amber Hamer who ‘explored death through art.’
Ms Hamer said in her pieces, she has focused on how death intertwines with time, fear, and transformation.
“I chose to explore the theme of death because I believe it’s a topic that deserves more thought and conversation, death is a universal experience, yet we often avoid discussing it openly,” she said.
“My artworks are intended to invite the viewer to explore their own perceptions of death with an open mind, this is something I am passionate about as I believe through death there is a lot we can learn about life.”
Ms Hamer’s part of the exhibition is counting towards her schoolwork too, with it making up her Year 12 Independent project.
Ms Hamer said the opportunity to display her work in the Warburton Waterwheel gallery is wonderful.
“I began the year unsure of whether I wanted to display my work as I did not consider myself talented enough to be called an artist, however through the support of some pretty amazing people I am now sharing my work with the public in hopes that it will resonate with others,” she said.
“The main mediums I have been drawn to are acrylic painting and digital art as they are very forgiving and allow me to experiment without fear of making mistakes, however, I have also used other mediums such as watercolour, gouache and photography.”
In the gallery space, Tender Funerals Greater Eastern Melbourne will be hosting two Community-led Death Care and Funerals talks, two Planning your Funerals workshops and a Green Burials Talk and Shrouding Demonstration courtesy of Heaven and Earth Eco Burials throughout the month.
Tender Funerals Greater Eastern Melbourne Community Activator Melinda Whyman said they were very excited having an exhibition that would bring the topic of death into the public space to open up conversations and it’s fabulous to have Ms Hamer’s work included.
“It’s an excellent synergy with what we call our death literacy ethos and we were very happy to auspice her [Amber] to be able to make this happen, we have a lot of admiration for Amber,” she said.
“It’s a very brave project that she’s embarked on and particularly at such a tender age to be interested and willing to have that conversation about end of life and wanting to encourage other people to have that conversation,”
“The work’s really evocative and it’s quite beautiful and inviting, I’m standing in the space looking around and she’s created a really interesting collection of works that encourages people to reflect and contemplate in deeply beautiful ways.”
The Community-led Death Care and Funerals talks will be held on Sunday 13 and Saturday 26 October from 11am, with the two Planning your Funerals workshops held from 1pm on the same day. The Green Burials Talk and Shrouding Demonstration will be hosted by sisters and owners of Heaven and Earth Eco Burials Tamsin Ramone and Alyssa Wormald on Sunday 20 October from 1pm.
Ms Whyman said they hope the exhibition helps people to become more ‘death literate’ and to feel more comfortable with the topics of death and dying.
“In my experience as a funeral director, I’ve spoken to lots of people in preparation for their death and their funeral and they always say afterwards that they feel a huge sense of relief and empowerment,” she said.
“What we’re hoping in offering this engagement with the community is that people feel more informed and more empowered to prepare for their death, whether it’s their own or people that they love, and hopefully that it allows deaths to be brought back into the conversation of life,”
“I think the more people know, the more informed they are, the more they feel capable of making those decisions in a difficult or sad time.”
The exhibition was made possible through a $1100 grant from the Upper Yarra Community Enterprise Community Grants program.
