For the thesis, I will explore how we hold space for the people and places once they have left our lives or have been permanently altered. I want to explore the feelings, places, and rituals of the Irish wake. How we label, visually hold, and keen for our loved ones when their time has come both historically and currently. Exploring overlap among different religions and cultures celebrate the dead in their own unique, but similar ways. I am interested in the roles within death rituals, such as the midwife of death, the veil, and what it means to “take the weight” and carry it with us throughout our lives. For the thesis, I will explore how we hold space for the people and places once they have left our lives or have been permanently altered. I want to explore the feelings, places, and rituals of the Irish wake. How we label, visually hold, and keen for our loved ones when their time has come both historically and currently. Exploring overlap among different religions and cultures celebrate the dead in their own unique, but similar ways. I am interested in the roles within death rituals, such as the midwife of death, the veil, and what it means to “take the weight” and carry it with us throughout our lives.