Most cremation urns in Singapore are plain, functional vessels to hold cremated remains. The HappyUrns project hopes to change that by transforming urns into what the team calls "talking pieces" that encourage conversations and awareness about end-of-life matters.
The project team aims to take the urn, which is often viewed as a symbol of death, and transform it into a celebration of the person's life.
HappyUrns was commissioned by the Lien Foundation and Ang Chin Moh Foundation, in collaboration with the Design Innovation team from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
Working with seven elderly residents of St Joseph's Home, HappyUrns created personalised urns that reflected who they are and how they want to be remembered.
The project kicked off in 2019 with the designers getting to know the residents - striving to deeply understand their individual stories, character, and what they care about. They then worked with two ceramicists from The 8th Floor Creative Space and The Clay People to create urns that would represent each individual and be a cherished reminder for their loved ones when they pass on.
What was meant to be a six-month project was delayed five times due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The urns were eventually completed and handed over to the residents on Dec 6 last year.
The urns are also part of a virtual exhibition, Residents' Urns, on HappyUrn's website - where quirky descriptions capture how each resident inspired his design.
One resident to receive her urn in time was Madam Celine Yeo, who died last September at the age of 84. She had chosen a design featuring three angels holding up a red heart. The angels represent her sons - a psychologist, an arts conservator and an educator - whom she spoke proudly of.
Madam Yeo, a former Chinese teacher, found joy in guiding students to become responsible young adults. Her urn was handed to her family, who placed it in the columbarium in the Church of St Teresa with her ashes on Oct 28.
The HappyUrns project led by Professor Kristin Lee Wood, the director of Design Innovation at SUTD, was a spin-off from the Lien Foundation's Happy Coffins project of 2010 that sought to tackle the subject of mortality. The foundation had also partnered with St Joseph's Home then, with three residents sharing their pre-departure hopes and wishes with designers who helped create personalised coffins for them.
In the hopes of overcoming the taboo and fears associated with death and talking about end-of-life matters, HappyUrns is launching an international design competition today, called "Reinterpreting The Urn: A Symbol of Celebration".
It encourages participants from all walks of life to not only design an urn, but also propose a new way of broaching the topic of death with loved ones. Submissions can be made via the HappyUrns website by May 7.
• For more about the project, visit happyurns.org
