An exploration into the future of memorialisation using emerging technologies
DEATH MASKS
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Death masks can be dated back as early as the Ancient Egyptians and continued to be used for hundreds of years.
Death masks are typically a sculpted plaster, wood or wax cast which is created from a person’s face shortly after their death.
The mould could then be reused, usually for artistic reference to sculpt or paint, or simply to create a memento of the deceased.
This was considered the most accurate way of depicting the dead before photography was introduced.
The introduction of forensic photography has enabled documenting the deceased an easy and quick process which has diminished the need to create death masks.
FAMOUS EXAMPLES OF DEATH MASKS
RESUSCI ANNE
It is believed that in the late 19th century, a corpse was retrieved from the River Seine in France. Transported to the Paris mortuary and displayed publicly for purpose of identification, her beauty and youth fascinated one of the mortuary attendants who later requested a plaster mould of her face. Later gaining the name of L'Inconnue de la Seine. In the following years, the mask was reproduced becoming a muse for artists, poets and novelists; in the 20th century being referred to as the “drowned Mona Lisa”. In 1955, a newly invented technique of CPR was developed, a combination of chest compressions and breath, known today as the ‘kiss of life’. A Norwegian toy manufacturer called Asmund Laerdal was approached and invited to assist in the creation of an object which would demonstrate this CPR technique to people. He developed a mannequin which simulated a patient who required CPR; Laerdal considered a female doll to be less threatening to those learning the technique and after seeing the mask in his grandparents’ house, decided that the L'Inconnue de la Seine would become the face of the CPR doll, known as the Resusci Anne.