Luxury of Choice
Luxury of Choice
Objects for self-deliverance
A collection of 19 objects for a voluntary death.
Methodically crafted. Completely real.
To address the topic of euthanasia through a series of fully functional objects was a difficult but crucial decision.
These objects are not an attempt to glamorize or promote taking one’s own life, but to consider self-deliverance as a worthy act; the one that requires a sense of the personal and intimate.
As individuals we avoid the topic of dying yet culturally we are conversely infatuated with death, with films and stories of murder.
On the other hand, we mourn the dead, memorialise, attend wakes and funerals. But there is this liminal space in between where the actual transition occurs. This we don’t talk about.
We are so fascinated with death but so fearful of dying.
IN ACRID ABEYANCE
Asphyxiation Shroud
Carbon Mono-Filament, Oxidized Silver
Object #1
Photography by John McKenzie
A carbon mono-filament hand-woven parametric macramé structured noose and veil for hanging.
Noose is fixed with massive 3D a printed silver neck cuff.
EDITION
Size - 6 metres
WRAPPED UP IN IT
Hypoxia Auto-Asphyxiation Car Exhaust Skarf
Carbon Mono-filament, Heat Resistant Silicone, Flat Woven Hose
Object #2
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Hand twisted hose combined with skarf. Parametric silicone plug tip connects to a standard sized car exhaust, length of skarf is fed through driver’s window and wrapped around the neck accelerating carbon monoxide induced hypoxia.
EDITION
Size - 10 metres
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Produced from the partial oxidation of carbon-containing compounds, it forms when there is not enough oxygen to produce carbon dioxide (CO2), such as when operating an internal combustion engine in an enclosed space.
CO is easily absorbed through the lungs; Poisoning occurs from breathing in CO at excessive levels. High concentrations are fatal in less than five minutes.
When breathed in the CO enters the bloodstream and mixes with haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin, at which time the blood is no longer able to carry oxygen.
This lack of oxygen causes the body’s cells and tissue to fail.
At 6,400 ppm headaches and dizziness arrive in one to two minutes. Convulsions, respiratory arrest, and fatality takes place in less than 20 minutes.
At 12,800 ppm unconsciousness occurs after 2–3 breaths. This level is fatal in less than three minutes.
Depending on the condition and tuning of a vehicle engine, the concentration of CO present in combustion gas ranges 30,000 to 100,000 ppm. In the absence of a functioning catalytic converter, this massive concentration of carbon monoxide accumulates very quickly.
A CONSERVATION OF MASS
Suffocation Exit-Bag
Dichroic Laminate, Dyneema, Silicone
Object #3
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Auxetic constructed suffocation bag, handcrafted using spectral dichroic materials, fits over the head, sealing air at the neck.
Multiple creased layers of bonded iridescence film in a geometric construction, form fit and move with breath creating a futurist iridescent shifting refraction while maintaining a view for eye contact.
EDITION
Size - 80x90 cm
An Exit Bag is a large impermeable bag that fits with a closure around the neck for asphyxiation.
It is used in conjunction with a flow of an inert gas such as helium or nitrogen, which prevents a panic, from the hypercapnic alarm response, a sense of suffocation and struggling before unconsciousness, caused by the presence of high carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood.
When only Wikipedia can say it – EXIT BAG:
“The urge to breathe is controlled by acidity and blood carbon dioxide [CO2] levels. Rising CO2 levels via limited fresh air causes a strong reflex to breathe, and increasing distress as levels rise, culminating in panic & desperate struggle for air.
If the supplied breathing gas is CO2 free, blood CO2 levels remain low while breathing occurs, inhibiting distress or urge to increase breathing rate.
By confining the gas supply and the head in an impermeable bag and providing a hypoxic, CO2-free, metabolically inert gas for inhalation, contamination with O2 from the surrounding air is prevented, minimizing the amount of gas required.
Inhalation of O2 deficient/ free gas fails to replenish O2 used in normal metabolisms, causing blood passing through lung capillary gas exchange regions to lose residual O2 in the alveolar air and blood capillaries, causing a far quicker drop in blood O2 level than holding the breath. Deoxygenated blood passes to the vital organs and brain and rapidly lowering O2 level below that to sustain consciousness, till cardiac arrest occurs.”
WITH BAITED BREATH
Rapid Suffocation
Oxidized COPPER, Cyanoacrylate, Albino Human Hair
Object #4
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
3D Printed oxidized copper tea service for super-glue.
Tea-pot style pourer, brush with albino human hair bristles, and receiving bowl used seal shut the mouth and nostrils for fast suffocation.
EDITION
Size - 15 cm
Restricting oxygen intake is a method employed in the absence of legalized assistance.
Asphyxiation is an imbalance between Oxygen intake and Carbon-Dioxide expenditure, as a result of blocking the airways.
All tools necessary to seal:
Albino hair brush, Glue Pot, Glue Tray, Cyanoacrylate.
SILENT NIGHT
Suffocation Pillow
Iceland Foetal Lamb Shearling, Phosphorescent Shrink Tube, Japanese Cotton Cord, Sound Absorbing Felt
Object #5
Photography by Christoph Köhrer
Toddler-to-Adolescent sound absorbing pillow-mask.
The child-sized pillow is designed with grip-ropes and sound absorbing materials for silent transition.
Edition
Size - 30 cm
NIL BY MOUTH
Starvation, Dehydration
OXIDIZED COPPER, Silver, Spider Silk
Object #6
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Sewing kit that allows the user to seal the mouth, restricting eating for deliverance by starvation.
Restricting intake via voluntary self-starvation is a method employed in the absence of legalized assistance.
EDITION
Size - 10 cm
Self-deliverance via Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking, (VSED) or "Voluntary palliated starvation" refers to the process which occurs when an individual chooses to stop eating and drinking to hasten the approach.
Starvation is an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. The body expends more energy than it takes in causing a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life.
Dehydration is a deficit of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake.
When intake of food and liquid is restricted, death can occur as early as a few days, though approximately ten days is the norm.
Dehydration will most likely be the main cause of the body shutting down, and intake such as sips of water can prolong the process. ⠀
Suturing the mouth closed with the silver surgical curved needle and bio-compatible engineered spider-silk thread commits the abstinence of any intake.
All tools necessary to sew:
Spider silk thread on printed copper bolt, hand-made oxidized black silver needles and parametric printed copper thimble.
IRREVERSIBLE
Zip-Tie Tourniquet Choking/ Constriction
Carbon Mono-Filament, Oxidized Silver, Flexible PLA
Object #7
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Choker styled necklace that functions as a zip tie/ tourniquet, for a gradual or quick, irreversible self suffocation.
3D printed Silver, Carbon Fiber.
EDITION
Size - 60 cm
WHO BY FIRE
Self Immolation Perfume Set
CNC Oxidized Steel, Blown Frosted Glass, Flint, Perfume, Ethanol
Object #8
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Perfumed ethanol spray bottle with incorporated flint steel and stone.
Spray is used to cover the body in fine specially made high-content ethanol mist before rotating flint around steel for ignition.
This fast-burning ethanol coats the body for rapid ignition to superheat the air around the body, sucking any atmospheric oxygen from the lungs and surrounding space.
EDITION
Size - 20x10 cm
In this method of auto-cremation, abandoning the body occurs first by lack of oxygen and increased carbon monoxide. The fire, a chemical reaction of extremely hot air breaking down substances, turns material into ash and smoke.
Breathing this swiftly drying out air, in turn, quickly makes your body oxygen-deprived, weakening the muscles and brain function, till unconsciousness takes over from the lack of oxygen.
The many components disassembled:
Part I - Hand-knapped American flint-stone
Part II - CNC-milled oxidized parametric striking disc
Part III - 3D-printed copper oxidized stopper with ring
Part IV - MASS high ethanol perfume
Part V - Blown grey crystal vessel
The perfume is specially produced or this collection with Folie à Plusieurs under the name MASS.
It is an alien fragrance, comprising notes of glass, micro-gravity, neon, designed to trigger no olfactive memories. Its uniqueness cleanses the path forward looking.
Where memory hinges on the olfactive notes for recall, bypassing anything familiar leaves the mind reeling to grasp for the trigger.
There is no trigger. Moving forward here requires no reaching back to the past.
A SINGLE STRIP OF BLINDING LIGHT
Self Immolation Neck-Tyre
Magnesium, Fuse, Natural Rubber Profile, Object Dripped Rubber
Object #9
Photography by John McKenzie
Region specific South-African model - Parametrically woven necklace with highly flammable components.
Necklace melts and adheres to skin while rapidly burning.
EDITION
Size 120x30 cm
IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT
Self Immolation Shroud
Auxetic Cut Flammable Laminated Felt, Quick Fuse, Gun-Powder, Carbon Mono-Filament
Object #10
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Self-Deliverance through Self-Immolation.
Draped shroud made of highly flammable laminated and auxetic cut textiles, allowing for the wrapped form to rapidly heat up and burn for extended periods.
EDITION
Size - 220x150 cm
The rope wick incorporates quick-fuse and gunpowder requiring minimal spark to ignite and engulf the whole form.
This fast-burning wick snakes around the garment to rapidly ignite the entire shroud, comprising flammable felt charged with paraffin and thermite, to superheat the air around the body, sucking any atmospheric oxygen from the lungs and surrounding space.
In this method of auto-cremation, abandoning the body occurs first by lack of oxygen and increased carbon monoxide. The fire, a chemical reaction of extremely hot air breaking down substances, turns material into ash and smoke.
Breathing this swiftly drying air out, in turn, quickly makes your body oxygen-deprived, weakening the muscles and brain function, till unconsciousness takes over from the lack of oxygen.
AND TO MY REFLECTION
Bowl For Drowning - Respiratory Impairment Via Water
Blown Frosted and Etched Crystal
Object #11
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
A special formed massive bowl designed for drowning. The user fills the bowl with fluid of choice, submerges head, holds on to the sides and evenly drowns.
EDITION
Size - 65x50 cm
A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE
Electrocution Bath Bomb
CNC Milled Oxidized Steel, PCB, Capacitors
Object #12
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Electrocution Defibrillator orb, charged via contact points, and used within wet environments for increased conductivity, preferably in bath tub. The milled parametrically modeled surface acts as the +/- respectively. The ball is rotated 90deg to prime and discharges 2000 volts, arresting the heart. Three pulses vibrate before activation.
Sound design by Jeremy Gara
EDITION
Size - 18 cm
Genesis of an idea
I had a friend who hanged himself with a 300 kronur rope made for pulling cars.
This idea that he finished an upbeat phone call with another friend, went across the road to the gas station, bought a cheap turquoise nylon rope, brought it home and hung himself with something so low-cost, budget and common and impulsively picked… I couldn’t get out of my mind the idea of the feel of the slippery hard material, the crinkly plastic as he unwrapped it, and that those were the sounds and textures of the last moments.
And that up until that exact moment in time its purpose was a “car-rope” till the word and the world subverted it to “hangman’s-rope.” The extrinsic nature diverted, the potential of the object shifted very quickly, and I could never look at car ropes the same. They were now not just “a rope,” nor could they ever be again. They were a device, a menacing presence, and a tool of incredibly specific relief.
There is no single genesis moment for this project. It was cumulative. I thought of one thing, then another, and then at some point it was a collection of linked ideas, forms and behaviours.
Creating a fictional story felt like side-stepping the actual conversation I wanted to have. It would have presented a false reality like a film, or a character in a book spouting terrible thoughts, but with the author smartly abdicating responsibility for the provocative ideas. This fiction with real objects presented in a non-real world would remove much of the impact and worth.
This needed to come from me, as a near-to-complete vision as possible, and not shifting the responsibility to it being just a harmless story. I had to be accountable for the idea, good reactions or bad.
These are all completely real, fully functional objects whose intended purpose is clearly defined and will work when employed, to hasten death.
AS THE COLD WASHES OVER ME
Hypothermia Blood Freezer
Blown Frosted Crystal, Solid-State Freezer, Oxidized Copper, PCB, Needles, Hose
Object #13
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Dialysis device incorporating solid state freezer and peristaltic pump, draws the blood from one vein and rapidly cools it before feeding it back in another vein, dropping the body temperature to critical levels.
Sound design by Jeremy Gara
EDITION
Size - 70 cm
Normal body temperature is maintained through thermoregulation at around 98.6 F /37 C. Hypothermia occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature; this begins as the body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C). At 27 degrees celsius, there is a loss of consciousness. Anything below 21 degrees celsius is considered profound hypothermia, leading to fatality.
Many changes to physiology occur as body temperatures decrease below 35 C.
These occur in the cardiovascular system leading to dysrhythmia, decreased central nervous system electrical activity, cold diuresis, and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema.
This improper functioning of the heart caused leads to reduced blood flow, which then leads to shock, liver failure, kidney failure, and, ultimately, complete heart failure and cessation of all functions.
THIS SINKING FEELING
Jumping/ Drowning Weights
Oxidized Cast Lead, Carbon Mono-Filament
Object #14
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Heavy Weight Cuffs - Macramé parametric knotted heavy metals, act to increase gravitational pull when leaping from heights or submerging in water.
Cast parametric lead weights, hand twisted carbon mono-filament.
EDITION
Size - 120 cm
THE ACQUIRED TASTE
Poison
Blown Frosted and Etched Crystal
Object #15
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Rotational formed, frosted glass for toxic liquids.
Teabag string timer optional for ritual infusion practice.
EDITION
Size - 35cm
IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
Electric Fibrillation Fork.
Hand-formed Steel, Natural Horn.
Object #14
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Electrocution fork for slotting into power sockets, with 5 international plug options.
Based on the method for stopping the heart during surgery, this Ventricular Firbrillator creates a rapid, irregular and uncoordinated contraction of the muscle fibres, most specifically the cardiac muscle of ventricles to create an artificial cardiac arrest from man-made electricity.
EDITION
Size - 35 cm
Gripping the fork on each handle directs the fatal path of the electricity through the heart.
Interchangeable plug heads allow for activity in all international power socket options while traveling.Hand-formed, sandblasted and oxidized steel, buffalo horn current breaker.
When I spoke about it with other people, some of them reacted to the concept as a whole, others to a specific object or behavior. No one, however, has displayed zero reaction. I think this is good. It has shown me this is a relevant topic. From chronic illness to overpopulation, climate crisis, extinction – we are surrounded by it. No one remains untouched.
Why address this topic through objects?
Every time I would hear of someone dying like this, I would find myself thinking about the object that was their last function. This function could be so important or so accidental, from failed autoerotic asphyxiation to intentional asphyxiation by hanging.
Research into euthanasia revealed further ways it goes wrong, and how often it was a disaster, with misinformation, ineffective objects and tragic failures. I kept thinking about the lack of ceremony to a lot of euthanasia stories – and about a culture where it isn’t a taboo, it isn’t frowned upon, it is just seen as The Time.
On one hand, we are infatuated with death, with films and stories of murder. On the other, we mourn the dead, memorialise, attend wakes and funerals. But there is this liminal space in between where the actual transition occurs. This we don’t talk about. We are so fascinated with death but so fearful of dying.
It is in no way an attempt to glamorize or promote taking one’s own life, but to consider it as a worthy act; the one that requires a sense of the personal and intimate… rather than using meaningless random objects at hand.
It is important to create rituals for the transition, not just the memory of the person. Something for the person themselves to help prepare, whether it is a ceremony or a personal rite or some other thing that isn’t just about making a decision and having to defend it or feel the guilt and shame associated with it.
Having the luxury to choose when and how is one of the most difficult things about this conversation. It is still such a taboo that we don’t even allow room for much debate.
When I bring it up with other people, the response is to either see themselves or to see me using these objects, neither of which is pleasant. But I’m not necessarily after pleasant here. I see no value in softening the edges. I know this is and will be difficult for me and for the viewer.
Nor am I necessarily after confrontation. I am aware these are confrontational topics and objects, yet this is something I need to talk about. Sometimes you have an idea that is bigger than yourself, and it has to get out, otherwise it will eat at you from the inside. I can’t move on from this until it is extracted.
There is a catharsis to making this, for sure.
I’m fascinated by the object and the meaning. By the fact that an object and a definition, or just a name, can evoke such intense reactions via meaning or value. The object is innocent, it is the way it’s used that defines how we assess it. It is inanimate, but we are the puppeteer. It is us who execute the behaviour, not the object.
BLADE WALKER
Blood loss
Raw Diamond Slice, Printed Silver, PCB, Battery, Sensors
Object #17
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
Automated vein opening device from black silver and surgically sharpened diamond blade.
User draws a line with black ink over the selected vein, places the Blade Walker on the wrist and it automatically crawls along the arm, staying on track via optical sensors, while opening the veins from wrist to inner elbow.
EDITION
Size - 10x5 cm
A LAST TASTE OF FREEDOM
Overdose Tablet, Funnel and Drinking Glass Set
Blown, Frosted and Etched Nude Czech Crystal
Object #18
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
A mouth blown, rotational formed, incredibly cold-worked and frosted glass funnel, measure cup and water glass set for the excessive ingestion of pills or powder in quantities greater than recommended.
The tablets or powder are filled into the cellar, poured through the funnel into the mouth to contain spillage, and swallowed with assistance from fluid via the tall glass to accelerate a fatally toxic state.
EDITION
Size - 18 cm
BY A THOUSAND CUTS
One Thousand Incredibly Sharp Cotton and Wool Paper Knives
Pressed ultra-fine edged, for deliverance via blood loss
Object #19
Photography by Benedict Redgrove
A paper knife set and sheath with wickedly smooth and sharp edge for the opening of skin.
Travel size.
EDITION
Size - 8,5x5 cm x 1000
Benedict Redgrove, photographer: “When Sruli approached me with this idea, I felt an immediate connection to the project. It was so honest and unique that I could collaborate on it and put my energy into producing something that would be worthwhile and open a debate that needs to be had. We crave the wrong things, we talk about the wrong things, our values and goals are based on the consumption of products and not on love or understanding. To even speak of that is assumed to be some kind of weakness. But when that hole has been left to grow and the consumption can no longer fill the need, what do we have left? Is it this? Is this the ultimate consumer product? Is this what you want? This beautiful, expensive, exclusive limited edition, slice-your-veins, fill-your-lungs, drown-yourself, electrocuting power ball? This project is here to stir up the conversation. A conversation that is fully open, with no areas you can’t talk about.”
Anna Yudina, context curator: “Sruli Recht’s ‘Luxury of Choice’ reminds us with ultimate clarity that certain choices lead through the gate of no return. Once ‘a bowl’ becomes ‘a bowl for drowning in,’ it also becomes a container for irreversibility – as little as reading a caption would suffice for this to happen. But irreversibility is something that applies to life in general – every moment in time is irreversible, and every point in our life is a point of departure, the one that we have to quit in order to move on, but also the one that we have to embrace to consciously make the next move. Born from the quiet and visceral knowledge about life that admits the presence of death, ‘The Luxury of Choice’ bypasses the rational mind and goes straight to the core of the matter. Doing it with lots of dignity.”
Eugene Rabkin, editor of StyleZeitgeist magazine: “Sruli’s work is otherworldly. There is no better word to describe the products of a singular mind so pregnant with ideas that it enables him to conjure things into existence that feel like they are works of science fiction, yet are familiar enough not to be ignored as mere products of fantasy and dismissed as playthings. Sruli makes you see objects in a different light – not as they are, but as they could be. Sometimes they make you uncomfortable, and being uncomfortable is increasingly important in the contemporary culture whose aim is to comfort and distract you. Sruli’s work is a challenge to one’s mind, and sometimes to one’s body. The challenge and discomfort that exist not to bring you pain but to make you feel alive, to make you examine the world and the self. His work makes you think. One could hardly ask more from an artist.”
CURATOR
Jonathan Freemantle
PHOTOGRAPHY
Benedict Redgrove
John McKenzie
Christoph Köhrer
FABRICATION PARTNER
Flavia Bon
William Lloyd Thomas
Ondřej Novotný
Andreas Jørgensen
Kaya Sorhaindo
SOUND
Jeremy Gara
INTERVIEW
Anna Yudina