Infinity Burial Project

Jae Rhim Lee first wowed us when she wore a mushroom death suit (aka “ninja pajamas”) while presenting her TED talk in 2008. It may have been one of the more bizarre talks we’ve seen to date, but we loved the question she asks: can we commit our bodies to a cleaner, greener Earth, even after death? The answer is yes, with Jae Rhim’s brainchild The Infinity Burial Project.

The Infinity Burial Project proposes alternatives for the postmortem body that promote and facilitate a cultural death acceptance. The project features the development of mushrooms that decompose and remediate toxins in human tissue; the development of a decomposition ‘kit’; burial suits embedded with decomposition activators; burial containers; AND a membership society devoted to the promotion of death awareness and acceptance and the practice of decompiculture (the cultivation of decomposing organisms).

If you’re perplexed and need that demystified, watch this. It’s awesome.

While her project began as an art work, it now circulates and lives in multiple spheres–art, pop culture, the green and traditional funeral industryâ And there’s still more to come.

With this AWB grant, Jae Rhim will design and build the next iteration of the Infinity Burial Project: DRUM ROLL, PLEASE….The MyCOEO Pod – a burial container based on the Mushroom Death Suit that’s laden with mushroom material and other microorganisms.

Want to learn more? Who are we kidding, of course you do! Follow Jae Rhim on Twitter, or visit InfinityBurialProject.com.