Regulars and Shorts

My Burial Chamber: A Celebration of Life

By Pilar Pobil

An artist reflects on her life by making an exhibit of her beloved artifacts.
by Pilar Pobil (photos by John deJong)

To view photos from this story, see the full laid-out version on ISSU: https://issuu.com/catalystmagazine/docs/catalyst_1311/18 

 

The Idea for this exhibit, “My Burial Chamber,” started developing at the beginning of what I call my third life. The first one having been in Mallorca with my parents, the hard times of the Civil War and my youth until I met my American husband, Walter Smith. My second life began in Utah, with Walter, my children Luis, Monica and Maggie, my dearest friends, the amazing Utah landscape and my art. Then, just before the turn of the century, my husband died and for the first time in my life I was left alone and independent, free to make my own decisions and mistakes. My third life had just begun.

I started to reflect about my past, how many different activities had taken my interest and my time, the fact that I am one of those individuals who enjoys working and feeling passionate about embracing new ideas, creating unexpected objects, reckless enough to disregard my limited knowledge to try the pursuit of whatever provokes my interest.DSC02907

“My Burial Chamber” installation is a compilation of some of those diverse interests. When I first mentioned the title, people seemed shocked, believing perhaps that I was in a depressive mood. On the contrary, I believe this is a very positive idea and tribute to past generations. It is indeed a “celebration of life”! In recognition that the person for whom such a burial was prepared had had a full and satisfactory time on this earth, the ones who were left behind wanted to recognize the merit of the individual’s work and provide the means for him or her to continue on in the next life, in the ever after.

A beautiful gift! What more could we possibly ask for?

—Pilar Pobil

This article was originally published on November 1, 2013.