Irem Coker

The Funeral of a Goddess

The ritual of henna burning has been performed for thousands of years which is a ritual that women do the night before their wedding day. At the beginning of the night, the bride places a piece of henna into her palms and burns it, as it burns, they cover it in red cloth which also burns her hands. The original meaning of this ritual is that when women decide to get married, they are sacrificing themselves spiritually to the gods meaning they're giving up their goddess power. The motif is inspired by the flames and the common patterns of the bride’s dress.