Innovative, accessible, and deeply human, Dearly Departed: death in life invites visitors into a bold exploration of mortality across Queensland’s past, present and future. Through rich historical insight, evocative artistic interpretation and interactive design, the exhibition sparks meaningful conversation about life, death and the memories we hold.
Death is a universal experience. It will come to us all. Yet the way we confront, discuss, experience and ultimately reckon with death, and the realities of dying, varies enormously. Culturally diverse traditions and practices around death offer unique insights into how communities around the world honor and mourn their loved ones, shaping vastly different experiences and understandings of life’s final chapter.
Throughout the 20th century, death became a quiet taboo; something rarely spoken of, despite touching every life. Positioned at the powerful intersection of history, art and emotion, Dearly Departed encourages audiences to reflect on what it means to live well, die well and honour those who came before us. It reframes death not as an ending, but as a profound and enduring part of Queensland’s living story.
The exhibition examines the social, cultural, spiritual, historical and political forces that have shaped Queenslanders’ experiences and attitudes toward death and dying – then and now.
Join us as we rediscover how confronting death helps us better understand life itself.
Image 1: Roma Cemetery at sunset 2018. Tegan Neilsen & Helen Bougoure. Image number: 33286-0023-0014. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Image 2: J. Hislop undertakers premises, with a hearse drawn by horses in ceremonial regalia and accompanied by the driver, Brisbane ca. 1895. John Hislop Funeral Hearses and Premises Photographs. Accession number: 29789. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Image 3: Mourning ring ca. 1902 – 1914. Goldsmith Bros. Accession number: 34515. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Image 4: Mortician Jen Bliss moving the freshly fitted out coffin, photograph by Dean Saffron, 2020. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
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