Monuments of the Heart: Living Tombs and Organic Memories in Contemporary Culture

According to the basic assumption that monuments are the aesthetic mediators of memory—primarily the memory of the dead—the essay aims to discuss the imaginary of the body as a sepulchral monument. Taking as a starting point the legend of Artemisia of Caria, who celebrated the memory of her dead husband/brother Mausolus both by having the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus erected and by drinking Mausolus’ ashes so as to turn herself into his living sarcophagus, the analytic focus is on the replication of similar symbolic practices in contemporary culture, namely in the field of organ transplantation. The transplanted patient receives and preserves within his/her body the organ of the deceased donor, thus becoming, even if unintentionally, the donor’s memorial monument.