Jae Rhim Lee (born 1975 in

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

, South Korea) is an artist and TED Fellow working at the intersection of

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of w ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

, and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Ty ...

. Lee aims to promote "acceptance of and a personal engagement with death and decomposition" by breeding a unique strain of

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

that promotes

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that cla ...

tissue decomposition upon death. She earned a B.A. degree in psychology from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficia ...

(1998) and an M.S. degree in visual studies from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

(2006).

Infinity Burial Project

According to Lee, human bodies accumulate a large amount of

toxins A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (184 ...

during their lifetime. Upon death, whether the body is

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is a ...

or buried, these toxins are released back into the environment. The fungi have been chosen for their potential to utilize the nutrients in human tissue and to remediate industrial toxins in soil. Once realized, the "Infinity Mushroom" will be applied to the other components of the project. The mushrooms can be adapted to grow on the artist's own collected hair, nails and skin. Eventually, a body suit will be developed that the deceased is wrapped in, which will promote decomposition. The journalist has explained that small mushroom structures with a cap and stipe are found in several groups of ascomycetes, for example, the fruitbodies of Cordyceps, Vibrissea, and Mitrula, and the club-shaped earth-tongues. Though similar in appearance to these fungi, the very small fruitbodies of Onygena species differ in that the cap surface breaks into a powdery spore mass at maturity. The two most common species are O. corvina, which occurs on owl pellets, bird carcasses, hair, and wool, and O. equina, found on the decaying horns and hooves of cattle and sheep. Onygena corvina reaches at most 2.5 cm (1 in.) in height, and has a whitish stalk and an ocher to light brown cap. These fungi are widely distributed but infrequently collected because of their small size and occurrence on animal remains, which are avoided by most mushroomers.

FEMA Trailer Project

The FEMA trailer project was exercised in 2003. At that time, New Orleans had the

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the co ...

, so the government supplied FEMA trailers as shelters to many homeless people. However, people recognized that the FEMA trailers created formaldehyde, a bad chemical gas, which can cause respiratory problems. Although the government gave them other shelters to live in, surplus trailers have been keeping producing formaldehyde. Therefore, Jae Rhim Lee and the team for environmental justice were asked to find a good way for solving the problem of FEMA trailers. She put on many plants on the toxic soils on the surplus trailers, which can relieve soil erosion and purify formaldehyde.

References

External links

Jee Rhim Lee's homepage

MIT homepage
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Jee Rhim Lee's TED personal profile
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"My mushroom burial suit" (TEDGlobal 2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jae Rhim 1975 births Living people American artists People from Gwangju Wellesley College alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni