“WHATEVER DEATH EO BEARS.” Starting from her own experience of losing loved ones during the pandemic, artist and anthropologist Rucsandra Pop invites you to take part in a collective mourning ritual

The last few years – marked by the pandemic – have left many families in mourning. The encounter with death upsets the inner order of any person, but also the order of a community. Rituals have a role
to help people find their balance after death. The pandemic forced us
let’s rewrite these rituals, let’s impoverish them. Travel restrictions have prevented those who
they were away attending the funerals of relatives or friends, vigils and vigils
they moved to social media – people mourned their dead how and where they could.
Starting from her own experience of losing loved ones during the pandemic, the artist and anthropologist from Brașov Rucsandra Pop invites the local community to take part in a ritual
collective processing of mourning and acceptance of death. The performative installation built in
around the idea that ANY DEATH BRINGS IT is also an invitation to look for meaning in death
life. Unlike traditional rituals, the one proposed within the performative installation is
open, without fixed rules and without judgments, being mediated by art, and each participant can do it
customize. Built in layers, the installation calls upon photography, collages, text, sound, textiles
and to tastes, but also to practices that activate the senses and emotions.
Death is not only a rite of passage for the one who goes, but also for those who remain and whom this event fundamentally transforms, but also gives them the chance to rediscover and reinvent themselves.
EVERY DEATH BEARS IT: THE RESONANCE BOX proposes 8 performances with a limited number of 25 participants/representation, which will take place between May 13 – May 19, 2024, at the Transilvania University Multicultural Center in Brașov. The performative installation will have two separate areas: one of death – meaning honoring those who are no longer with us – and one of life and the future. Participants will be invited to bring an object that reminds them of a loved one who is no longer with us. These objects can become part of the installation. Psychologists will also be present at each performance who can contain the emotions of those going through this experience, if necessary.
Also, the participants will receive as a gift the object-book ANY DEATH EO POARTĂ which contains images and texts from performances signed by the artist Rucsandra Pop, the curator Iuliana Dumitru and the poets Alina Purcaru, Cristina A. Bejan, Elena Vlădăreanu, Ștefania Mihalache, Andrei Dósa, George Ștefan and Răzvan Țupa.

On Friday, May 17, there will also be a thematic workshop dedicated to artists, anthropologists and psychologists from the communities around Brașov (Făgăraș, Sinaia, Predeal, Sfântu Gheorghe and others), in which they will be explored
the methodology and impact in the community of such a performative approach, with the aim of being taken over in one’s own artistic practice. More details about the workshop, in the Facebook event, and registrations are made by filling out this form. More details about the project can be accessed on the Fragile Society website.
The artist Rucsandra Pop is very connected to the Brasov community, where she grew up and studied. She is passionate about how dialogue and creativity can bring more trust between people, about how cities or neighborhoods can turn into communities, that is, into a better home. Rucsandra is a graduate of the Andrei Șaguna National College and the Faculty of Letters of Transilvania University and is a founding member of the Fragile Society Association.
The Fragile Society Association was founded in 2021 out of the belief that the artistic act can create social change. It is an organization that aims to create meeting and reflection areas where women – and not only them – can identify, document and explore their vulnerabilities, limitations and strengths, using artistic tools and practices.

Team:
Rucsandra Pop – initiator of the project and performer;
Iuliana Dumitru – curator;
Irina Botea Bucan and Jon Dean – video;
Ioana Flora – directing consultant;
Gabriela Alexe – ambient sound producer;
Raluca Moșescu-Bumbac and Laura-Maria Ilie – communication;
Iulian Eremia – installation installation;
Alec Pop – art director
Psychologists: Florence Simion, Camelia Clem, Silvia Solomon, Adriana Prundaru

Entry is free on all days of the event.