Want to Care for Earth Even After You’re Dead? Put on the Mushroom Death Suit

Credit: infinityburialproject.com

There’s something elemental about mushrooms, as they appear with their earthy smell — the very manifestations of the soil itself. In ancient Egypt, mushrooms were declared sacred and were only consumed by royalty. Associated with mythology and lore, mushrooms can produce mystic visions — they can sustain and also poison. According to award-winning mycologist and innovator, Paul Stamets, mushrooms can save the world. They can clean up oil spills and nuclear waste and provide defense against diseases. With the help of microfungi, we can enjoy bread, cheese, beer and wine. Mushrooms benefit us as they feed on Earth’s decay and it even seems logical that Jae Rhim Lee, an artist, an MIT research fellow and a TED presenter turned to mushrooms as an answer for the world’s postmortem future.

Credit: de_buurman

In her 2011 appearance in a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference, Jae models her Mushroom Death Suit, or what she jokingly calls ninja pajamas. It’s close fitting and even somewhat stylish. Made of organic black cotton, it is accentuated with stark white patterns that resemble mushroom mycelium. This dendritic embroidery is infused with mushroom spores. Jae’s outfit comes with accessories, or with what she calls the “Decompiculture Kit.” It contains capsules of “Alternative Embalming Fluid”: a cocktail of elements that speed up decomposition and a special “Decompiculture Makeup”: a mix of mineral makeup, mushroom spores and a separate liquid culture medium. Combining mushroom spores with the liquid stimulates the mushroom growth resulting in an effective postmortem decomposition and soil remediation — which are the objectives of her Infinity Burial Project.

According to Jae, a cremated body releases 219 toxic pollutants into the atmosphere, while traditional burial uses chemicals that cause respiratory problems and cancer in funeral workers.

Jae herself had studied with Paul Stamets. “He talks about the mushroom as being the interface organism between life and death, that mushrooms are the master decomposers,” Jae told newscientist.com,“By trying to preserve death, we are poisoning the living and the environment.”  Our common burial practices are not environmentally sound. According to Jae, a cremated body releases 219 toxic pollutants into the atmosphere, while traditional burial uses chemicals that cause respiratory problems and cancer in funeral workers. To create a master decomposer, Jae has been “training” shiitake and oyster mushrooms to consume her skin, hair and nails. The best eaters will be picked as the “Infinity Mushrooms” to eat her body after she dies. “Some of the tastiest mushrooms can clean environmental toxins in the soil,” Jae declares on TED.

Jae Rhim Lee wearing mushroom burial suit
(credit: infinityburialproject.com)

Jae’s Infinity Mushroom is a work in progress. It’s more than just a way to clean the environment. She sees her project as a step towards accepting death as a natural part of life and knowing that someday she too will die and decompose. “I imagine the Infinity Mushroom as a new way to think about death and the relationship between my body and the environment.”

Jae has been testing the Mushroom Death Suit on expired meat. However, she has already met a number of people who have expressed interest. Someday they will be able to place an order. Jae hopes her Infinity Burial Project will shift our view from a culture of death denial to that of  acceptance.

Perhaps the humble mushroom is the future of burial industry, a bridge between life and death, human body and the Earth.

The last few years have been exciting for Jae. From CNN to “The Colbert Report,” the Infinity Burial Project had generated a lot of media attention.  In October of 2013, the Mushroom Death Suit won a Special Jury Prize in the Design for Death Competition. Perhaps the humble mushroom is the future of burial industry, a bridge between life and death, human body and the Earth.

“Jae Rhim Lee’s work challenges the boundaries prescribed by society and 
culture between self and other by proposing unorthodox relationships for the 
mind/body/self,” MIT states.

Read more from “Something Special” here.