Yamiyo Ishi (闇夜石): “[light] stone of the dark night”
- Journey from loss into light-forged obsidian
Design / Experience
- Turn ashes of someone you love into obsidian; keepsake + memento
- Part of “grief pilgrimage" in rural japan; questions and prompts along the way that allows someone to process and let go
- We could also design other installations that would allow someone to go through the 5 stages of grief, with this obsidian one being the last one: acceptance
- Prior ones are (denial, anger, bargaining, depression)
Materials
- big Fresnel lens
- Armature / actuator to hold lens
- Ceramic mold / cast for obsidian
Open questions
- [Fire safety] Design of mechanical system that is normally at rest closed to the sun and then you have to electromechanically actuate it to focus the light
- calcs for the right distance / angle but presume that would require some kind of sun tracking
- how long it takes ashes to melt into obsidian
- Jewelry mold: ceramic?
- Does someone need to be around to monitor / operate this given the dangerousness?
Location / Sites
Timing
- time with Obon, summer can be powerful for specifically the obisdia
- fall with falling leaves