Vigil:

In collaboration with Shipton Gallery and curator Isabella Greenwood from London, Semester 9 presents Vigil: Death and the Afterlife, an exhibition with 26 contemporary artists, from across Northern Europe, that explore mortality in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world. A vigil traditionally signifies a quiet period of watchfulness between death and burial, as loved ones keep watch over the ailing or mourn the departed. To keep vigil is to confront mortality itself, acknowledging the fragility of one’s existence while honouring another’s passing. This exhibition invites you to face what it could mean to bear witness to death and all that it entails. As you journey through Vigil: Death and the Afterlife, you will encounter three themes: the physical reality of death and decay, imagined realms beyond earthly existence, and a speculative post-human world questioning what remains when we are gone. Set within the dark, industrial halls of Loods 6, the exhibition unfolds like a dreamscape, where illuminated objects reveal moments of introspection and clarity. The industrial site that was formerly used for the coming and going of goods now housed an exhibition that explores the coming and going of life. Through installations, sculptures, paintings, and multimedia works, Vigil: Death and the Afterlife draws you into a contemplative realm, inviting reflection on life, death, and what may lie beyond. Amid a world often marked by turmoil and uncertainty, this exhibition offers a space to pause, reflect, and find meaning in the act of witnessing death and its many mysteries.