Memento mori - Swiss News

Memento mori
© BilderBox.ch
The once-taboo subject of death seems to
be moving into mainstream conversation,
changing the way we view the end of
life. From online tributes to eco-funerals,
alternative memorials are gaining
popularity, and more people are thinking
about their final farewells in advance.
Let’s take a look at some of the latest
developments in the after-life industry.
By Laura Boudreau | As I hold the bright blue aluminium and
steel sphere, I have to remind myself that I am not in a contemporary
art gallery or design shop – at least not in a traditional sense.
I am in the studio of Thomas Schär, director and producer of
URNE.CH, and the object I have in my hands is a funeral urn.
“The urns are more than simple containers,” says Schär, as
he shows me his collection. “They are objects of remembrance
as well as an expression of a particular attitude to life. People
buying these urns are interested in art; they are urban, cosmopolitan
and open-minded.”
Schär came up with the idea for his handmade urns in 1996,
after coming home from Art Basel and, by chance, spying some
particularly unattractive urns in an undertaker’s shop window.
“I joked with my colleague, ‘Could you imagine ending up like
this’ Traditional urn design is frightening, boring or tasteless,
and doesn’t express the time we live in.”
Schär’s urns range from his signature Cosmicball spheres
and cubes fashioned out of pear tree wood, to ceramic forms
with bold designs – all of which can be personalised with engravings
of names, dates, or the coordinates of ashes. Prices start at
SFr 240 for hand-size stainless steel containers, while the largest
and most intricate designs sell for thousands. According to Schär,
“The urns appeal to everyone who is looking for an individual,
unique and dignified way to tend the memory and spirit of a
loved one.”
Contemporary attitudes
While Schär’s product may be unique, his modern approach to remembrance
is part of a worldwide trend: More and more people
are taking an active interest in contemporary funeral planning
and legacy management, both for their loved ones and themselves.
The demographic realities of an ageing population, combined
with people’s increased environmental awareness and
technological capabilities, has created a market of sophisticated,
educated consumers who are interested in exploring funeral
options that are more in line with their modern beliefs and
lifestyles.
Thankfully, most residents of Switzerland won’t have to
confront their own mortality until quite late in life (the United
Nations ranks Switzerland fourth in the world for average life
24 feature ⏐ november 2010

Contemporary ideas about mortality inspire new resting places (some with very modern designs, as shown by Thomas Schär)
© URNE.CH
expectancy – its inhabitants live longer than people in any other
country in continental Europe), but that isn’t stopping a growing
number of people from planning ahead and exploring some
more unusual options.
Living legacy
Cemeteries are traditional resting places, but space in Switzerland
is at a premium: After a number of years (as specified by the
particular canton), relatives of the deceased are required to clear
away the gravestone, so the plot can be re-used. Other land use
concerns – including those from environmental groups who
contend that casket burial contaminates water and soil – have
led people to seek out more eco-friendly alternatives, including
cremation.
Cremation in Switzerland dates back to 1889, when the first
crematorium (the third such facility in Europe) was built, and
today it is a popular alternative to burial: The Swiss opt to be
cremated 75 per cent of the time. Families must then decide what
to do with the ashes. For some, a Friedwald burial is the answer.
Friedwald is the brainchild of Ueli Sauter, who started the
company in 1993 after the death of a dear friend. The concept is
both simple and touchingly symbolic: Families can bury their
loved one’s ashes at the base of a pre-selected tree in a natural
forest. The monument to the person’s memory becomes a living
tree, marked only by a small painted sign or plaque. Land
registries protect the over 60 Friedwald locations across Switzerland
for up to 99 years.
At 4,900 Swiss francs, a Friedwald tree doesn’t come cheap,
but price wasn’t what 59-year-old Myrtha Niedermann was thinking
about when she chose hers – a sun-dappled cherry overlooking
the river in Mammern, Canton Thurgau.
“I have no family, only my faithful pets,” Niedermann says,
noting that she would like to be buried with her animals, a relatively
common practice in Friedwald forests. “I have no one to
maintain my grave, and I would not like to be buried in a common
grave.” Indeed, many Friedwald customers take comfort in
the zero-maintenance aspect of a Friedwald burial, not wanting
to be a burden to their loved ones.
While Niedermann says that not all her friends understand her
unconventional plans, she knows she has made the right decision.
“I love the forest,” she says. “I’m very glad that Friedwald exists.”
Click here to R.I.P.
Aside from physical remains, there is also the issue of what to do
with the digital selves we leave behind: What happens to all
those Facebook, Twitter and MySpace accounts, Flickr photos,
blogs and online avatars after we die
Swedish entrepreneurs Lisa Granberg and Elin Tybring asked
themselves this question and were disturbed by the answer they
arrived at. “We realised that individuals had no control over their
digital identities after death,” says Granberg, adding that family
members wanting to wind down a loved one’s online life often
find themselves locked out of accounts. “We want people to be
able to take control of their lives online, even after they die.”
In October 2009, the women launched MyWebWill.com, a
subscription service designed to give users the power to control
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their web-based afterlife. “You might want to deactivate your
Facebook account, or forward important passwords to a relative,
for example,” says Granberg. “You could send a last Tweet, or
thank the readers of your blog. The possibilities are endless.
After we confirm your death, we simply carry out your wishes.
We like to compare ourselves to an insurance company, but an
insurance company for your web life.”
MyWebWill.com is now available worldwide. “More and
more people are living part of their lives on the Internet. My
father just got a Facebook account, and he’s 73,” she says with a
laugh. Does Granberg have her own MyWebWill account “Of
course! This idea came out of a personal interest.”
Eternal life
Many people want to leave something behind for future generations,
but technology is putting a new spin on this age-old
impulse. What if you could store your DNA in a nuclear bombproof,
military facility, high in the Swiss Alps No, it’s not
science fiction, merely the service offered by the company Swiss
DNA Bank. As its name suggests, Swiss DNA Bank will store
your genetic code, along with your digital memories, in one of its
vaults, preserving both for eternity.
“At the end of our lives, we lose everything about ourselves –
our DNA, the core biological element of our bodies, and our
memories,” says Luca Boschin, the chief operating officer of
Swiss DNA Bank. “We are offering people a secure place to preserve
this very important information.”
For US$ 299, subscribers can store up to one gigabyte of data,
including text, video, audio, or images. An additional US$ 100
pays for DNA storage: A DNA data collection kit is sent to the
subscriber, and a self-administered cheek swab is sent back in a
pre-paid envelope.
The information is protected by rigorous access protocols,
akin to Swiss banking systems. “You can choose to keep this
information private, for your own peace of mind, or you may
want to make it available to friends and family, your future genetic
descendents, or even the public,” says Boschin. “We are very proud
More information
Contemporary funeral urns by Thomas Schär: www.urne.ch
Friedwald forests: www.ecoeternity.com
MyWebWill: www.mywebwill.com
Swiss DNA Bank: www.swissdnabank.com
© BilderBox.ch
of being a Swiss company, and we are pleased to be able to offer
our subscribers protected storage in a safe, neutral country.”
Could this genetic material be used to clone people back to
life sometime in the future Today, the idea is far-fetched, but
Boschin notes the medical science is always advancing. “Who
knows what might be possible in a hundred years At the very
least, the DNA might be useful for researching and treating genetic
diseases.”
However, despite our best attempts at preservation, death is
still an unavoidable – though often overlooked – part of life.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the Swiss-born American psychiatrist
and author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying,
wrote in 1975, “It is difficult to accept death in this society
because it is unfamiliar. In spite of the fact that it happens all the
time, we never see it.” Perhaps the emergence of these new
options for planning our memorials will bring us one step closer
to accepting the inevitable.
26 feature ⏐ november 2010