Public/Private Contrast

To retain both intimacy and a public sphere of community, we generated spaces for both a private party and a public gathering. To combat loneliness often tied with kodokushi, we decided that the private area would be responsible for retelling the significance of the loved one. To remind others that they are not alone in their suffering and re-instill a sense of community, our public gathering area would allow people to find themselves in the stories of others.

We believe that storytelling is done best in a face-to-face setting through objects with a visually interactive element. In the tech-centric year of 2030, most of our artifacts have been curated and collected through digital means. The Death Shower thus revolves around digital memories of the loved one featuring a private room to sift through digital content while remaining in a face-to-face setting and a public room to sift through the content of others. The private room feeds into the public room to allow for the realization of someone’s life impacting the lives of others to the fullest extent. Images from the private party show up on the walls of the public space, with friends, family members, and strangers able to bask in the newly formed images of the loved one. As citizens acclimated to the publicity of our private lives, a value which technology has superimposed onto our lifestyle, the publicity of these digital traces has already been widely accepted by the community.

To prevent others from walking into a private party, we implemented the password to act as a barrier from strangers. We wanted to ensure that those who used the Death Shower as purely a private matter could do so in their desired setting. Otherwise, we afforded the option to use the Death Shower as a purely people-watching space for those without a private agenda.

Similar to services positioned around time specifications, the Death Shower also provides a waiting area for those who may come early. This area conveniently happens to be the public space that succeeds the private party gatherings. Early arrivers may use this public space to reflect on what they might want to consider going into the party and fully feel the impact of the loved one’s change on the public environment.