FAREWELL

CONCEPT
In Chinese culture, we believe that one’s spirit lives on in the afterlife after death. Life in the afterlife is similar to life in the present, it requires money, a home, and everyday objects. Family members can send these necessities through ritual burning.We prepare paper objects such as joss paper money, paper houses, or even paper beds and washing machines. Almost anything from real life can be recreated in paper and sent to the afterlife. At certain times of the year, families gather to burn these paper offerings, sending their deepest longing to loved ones on the other side.

When I was in middle school, at my grandpa’s funeral, my family made a life-sized paper house filled with joss paper money, paper beds, paper clothes, and more. Relatives from across the country gathered in my hometown. We stood in a circle around the house, using long sticks to light it.The fire spiraled upward, twisting the air around me. We murmured my grandfather’s name, calling to him from the other side. When the house finally turned to ashes and drifted into the air, I felt a light, gentle breeze brushing through my hair.

INFORMATION
Digital Illustration
3840*2160px
March, 2026