Memorials linger for the benefit of the living; the dead have no need for them. The memorialized are in a state of waiting for the world of the living to set them free. Like the bardo in Tibetan Buddhism, it is a respite between lives. Gravestones may prolong the second death – the last time someone speaks the name of the deceased – but they, like our bodies, are not eternal.

An unusual memorial can help us reflect on our impermanence.