Live Alone Death: Residing in the Afterworld of Memory.

The essay explores the phenomenon of solitary death, particularly through the lens of Miyu Kojima, a Tokyo-based artist who creates detailed dioramas of homes where unattended deaths have occurred, capturing the presence of absence in personal spaces. It reflects on the cultural concept of kodokushi, or "lonely death," in Japan, and considers the emotional and existential implications of dying alone, as well as the ways memory and objects preserve the lives of the deceased. The narrative also touches on practices like the "Lonely Funeral" in the Netherlands, where poets memorialize unclaimed dead through verse, highlighting diverse cultural responses to solitude in death. Ultimately, the essay meditates on the fragile boundary between life and death, solitude as a shared human experience, and the desire for meaning and witness in the face of mortality. [Extracted from the article]