Weronika designs a suit that makes new life possible
What happens to our bodies after we die? For Weronika Brzezicka, this is not a sombre question, but a hopeful one. She is graduating from Crossmedia Design at AKI ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design. Here, she developed Viriditas: a biodegradable burial suit that makes the cycle of life visible.
'Even after we're gone, we can still nourish so much.'
Humans as part of a larger whole
In her work, Weronika explores the relationship between people, plants and other living organisms. She sees our bodies as part of a larger natural cycle. 'Even after we're gone, we can still nourish so much.'
For her graduation project, she designed a biodegradable burial suit. The design is intentionally simple. The focus is not on the suit itself, but on what grows afterwards. “I wanted the attention to be on the plants that will eventually grow from it.”
This idea lies at the heart of Veritas. For Weronika, this transformation is not only about death, but also about the choices you make throughout your life. The title refers to a concept introduced by the medieval thinker Hildegard of Bingen. It represents the life force that connects all living beings.
Made from family history
When Weronika spoke with her grandmother about suitable natural materials, she pointed her towards a large piece of linen that had been stored in a cupboard for years. It turned out to have belonged to her great-grandmother in Poland and became an important part of the project. In this way, Viriditas connects not only people and nature, but also different generations within her family. As a result, the work feels even more personal. 'It is a way of giving my family a place within this project.'
Research through making
Alongside the Polish linen, Weronika worked with wool sourced in the Netherlands. For this project, she taught herself how to felt wool, a technique she had never used before. Experimentation is central to her way of working. She explores new materials and techniques by working directly with them. For Weronika, it was important to use only natural materials. As a result, every part of the suit can eventually return to the earth.
During ArtEZ finals, Weronika invites visitors to look differently at life, death and connectedness. Not as an ending, but as an ongoing transformation in which everything remains interconnected.
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