To All of Us Who Have Been Affected by COVID-19,

I would firstly like to express my gratitude for all the support I have received through these difficult times. Many have shared with me about how this pandemic is impacting their lives and the effects that social distancing is also having on our Spirits, creating feelings of aloneness. Some have even shared about the personal loss of a friend or family member, and how in many cases sadly that person died alone. 

As the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. continued to climb, I felt an intense urge to create a collaborative installation art piece to honor and memorialize those Souls that have left this plane called, HONORING MATTER: A MEMORIAL FOR THE VICTIMS OF COVID-19. I started making origami cranes intending to make one for each person lost from this virus. Initially I tried making 10 each night. By Thursday, May 14th, we reached 88,000 deaths, I realized I would have been making them for 22 years to represent each life lost at that time. However, now with the current number exceeding 200,000 it will take more than 29 years. 

Therefore, I am inspired to invite you and your team as well as everyone across the world who has been affected in any way by this virus to help me create this memorial.

The HONORING MATTER installation will be on display in MATTER STUDIO GALLERY throughout the Summer months and will be moving to a larger venue in the Fall. Anyone who would like to participate can make origami cranes and mail them to MATTER STUDIO GALLERY where they are currently being joined onto threads and installed as one of the focal points of this memorial installation. 

I am asking those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 to send me their names via email or DM. In addition, I am asking those who have lost loved ones to share a precious story with me that I will then post on my website and have available to listen to as they move through the exhibit.

"You are not a single drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in one single drop." - Rumi

Sincerely,

Karla Funderburk

Owner, Matter Studio Gallery