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Exploring Bodily Heirlooms: Material Ways to Prolong Closeness Beyond Death

The body plays an important role in building and maintaining emotional relationships. When a loved one dies, it is inevitable that their body will decease, meaning that physical closeness can no longer be experienced. In this paper, we engage with material ways to extend experiences of physical and emotional nearness beyond death. We explore the design space of ‘bodily heirlooms’: crafted, precious, interactive objects designed to pass on bodily impressions beyond lifespan. We review cultural practices that intend to bequeath the body, and related work that addresses death, bereavement and digital heirlooms. After that, we describe the design and making process of three bodily heirlooms, reflections in and on action, and reactions of visitors who inspected the heirlooms during an exhibition. We conclude by discussing notions of heirlooms’ preciousness, the emotional bond between heirlooms and their maker and how the process can be understood as a feminist practice.