Sin Eaters

Sin Eaters are a concept in folklore from many different cultures. When someone dies, a volunteer would be given a gold coin, a tankard of ale and a piece of bread. These would be passed over the body and the Sin Eater would eat, and drink, and take the coin as payment, symbolically taking on the sins of the deceased for the rest of their life. Ravens also play an important role in folklore surrounding death as the beings that carry a soul in to the afterlife.

The intention of this installation piece is to evoke not only the feelings of loss and destruction, but the beauty and renewal that we must go through in the process of healing and letting go. Ceremony and storytelling help us create a mythology that keeps our loved ones close to us. I make these objects as part of my own personal ritual and hope that others may identify with and find comfort in spending time in this space.