The dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live
Nature is a companion who comforts us, a technology we wield, and a teacher who guides us.
During November of 2024, the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live: the exhibition showcased the work of Laura Brown-Lavoie, Brooke Erin Goldstein, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, Jordan Seaberry, and Kei Soares Cobb. Through visual, literary and auditory art, this exhibition compiled navigational maps for life and death gifted to us by nature, from the subterranean realms to astral planes. These works were brought together to create a ritual space and physical container for exploring grief, mourning and green burial.
Learn more about the exhibition, gathering, and the contributing artists on the website for Brown Arts Institute’s Ignite series.
Street view of Reverberations (2022) by Brooke Erin Goldstein installed in the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Installation view of Reverberations (left) by Brooke Erin Goldstein and the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live (right) by Laura Brown-Lavoie. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Installation view of Reverberations by Brooke Erin Goldstein. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Installation view of the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live (2024) by Laura Brown-Lavoie.
Installation view of The American Ocean (2021) by Jordan Seaberry. photo credit: Peter Chenot
The American Ocean by Jordan Seaberry. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Phendula (left) and Tsedimoseto (right) (both printed in 2019) by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Tsedimoseto by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Detail of the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live by Laura Brown-Lavoie. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Phendula by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Program for the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live: the exhibition, designed by Becci Davis. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Panel conversation during the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live: the Gathering.
Installation view of Reverberations (right) by Brooke Erin Goldstein and the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live (left) by Laura Brown-Lavoie.
Street view of Reverberations (2022) by Brooke Erin Goldstein installed in the dead teach me how to die by letting me wildly live. photo credit: Peter Chenot
Becci Davis, Laura Brown-Lavoie and Kei Soares Cobb after the gathering. photo credit: Ceci Pineda
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Laura Brown-Lavoie, Kei Soares Cobb, Brooke Erin Goldstein, Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, Jordan Seaberry, Melissa Kievman, Avery Willis Hoffman, Ian Budish, Naushon Hale, ioLabs, Art Kopischke, Sarah St. Laurent, Owen Carson, Laurie Tamayo, Ceci Pineda, Cai Diluvio, Joshua Bristow and the BAI team.