You Can Take It With You

This is a very old idea for a project, but I will stick it here just in case.

The basic premise is that you would own a set of metal objects, in my head these would be jewellery but they don't need to be, and when you die they would be used to reconstruct your skeleton.

It came from the idea of not leaving your jewellery to your loved ones, but 'taking it with you' to your next destination. In a way it is connected to spirituality in that it is anti-religious. It's not about tools for the afterlife based on any religious belief systems, but on the notion that there is no afterlife except for one you design for the real world. If you want an afterlife you have to make one yourself.

The hardware is basically wire, some bolts and wing nuts, a few bent strips and larger connecting hooks. It's a case of finding out exactly what components are needed and then reconfiguring them for lifetime use. The odds and ends in the image above are old fashioned hardware: I know how to get a full set of new bits but they will lack that old-skool charm.

I did quite a bit of digging regarding the legality of leaving your body for this purpose. I found out that it was legal - you can state in your will that you want your skeleton to be put together for whatever reason - but the tricky thing is finding a surgeon who can remove all your flesh and cartilage. It's called "dissecting to the bone".