You see bone, I see... Diamond?

(Top: Chicken Bones)

(Middle: Glass jar of Ash)

(Bottom: Diamond Ring)

(Photographed in artificial soft box, Diamond photographed in natural light)

(Scale: 1:1 Collection)

Whilst producing my third diagram, I begun thinking about my 3 general categories. It became apparent quite quickly that 2/3 of these resulted in direct benefits to human beings, either physically or psychologically. These benefits ranged from the obvious prolonged life due to organ donation, to boosted self-esteem of e.g Cancer patients who will benefit from a larger selection of colours and styles of wigs produced in the process of hair recycling. 

This category quickly became the focal point of my diagram. By far the most interesting was the effects my industry had on the mourning process of the family. 

During my research, I had discovered there is currently technology that exists that will in fact turn the Ash of the deceased into Diamond.

"Carbon released during cremation is captured as a dark powder, before being heated to produce graphite. The graphite is then sent to a lab where it is synthesised into diamond."

I decided to represent this process in a very literal way. The bones are in fact real, and were obtained through a method similar to that of creating chicken stock. The ash is that of burnt paper, presented in a 'Kilner' jar. The choice of jar is symbolic of the products links to preservation, the idea of preserving the memory of a loved one. And what better way to show someone they are loved than to present them with a diamond engagement ring? (Donated very kindly by my girlfriend... we are not engaged by the way!) I'm not suggesting people start proposing with the remains of the deceased, but I think in terms of the project, the diamond ring added a certain edge that raises interesting questions about the process. The ring was displayed between two galvanised screws in order to represent its industrially synthesised creation.

These objects made quite a good collection and sum up the process quite well I feel. What are your thoughts? Who wants to be a diamond one day?