Jae Rhim Lee

Jae Rhim Lee (born 1975 in Gwangju, South Korea)[1] is an artist and TED Fellow[2] working at the intersection of art, science and culture. Lee aims to promote "acceptance of and a personal engagement with death and decomposition"[3] by breeding a unique strain of mushroom that promotes environmentally-friendly tissue decomposition upon death. Lee was previously associated with the MIT Program in Art, Culture, and Technology,[4] a part of the MIT Media Lab.

She earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Wellesley College (1998) and an M.S. degree in visual studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2006).[1]

Infinity Burial Project

According to Lee, human bodies accumulate a large amount of toxins during their lifetime. Upon death, whether the body is cremated or buried, these toxins are released back into the environment.[5] The fungi have been chosen for their potential to utilize the nutrients in human tissue and to remediate industrial toxins in soil. Once realized, the "Infinity Mushroom" will be applied to the other components of the project.[6]

The mushrooms can be adapted to grow on the artist's own collected hair, nails and skin.[7] Eventually, a body suit will be developed that the deceased is wrapped in, which will promote decomposition.

References

  1. 1 2 "Jae Rhim Lee" (PDF).
  2. ↑ "TED bio page". TED.com.
  3. ↑ "The Infinity Burial Project". InfinityBurialProject.com.
  4. ↑ "Page at MIT Art, Culture and Technology". MIT.edu.
  5. ↑ "Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit". TEDGlobal 2011. TED.com. July 2011.
  6. ↑ "The Infinity Mushroom". InfinityBurialProject.com.
  7. ↑ Ridden, Paul (July 29, 2011). "Green burial project developing corpse-eating mushrooms". GizMag.com.
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