Princess Casino

PRINCESS CASINO* explores my interest in how different cultures perceive death, contrasting ancient intimacy with contemporary detachment. Referencing Etruscan burial practices, where tombs were considered homes for the dead and scenes of feasting celebrated the continuity of life - I reimagine the tomb as a speculative model for the future.

What would a future tomb look like? Could we, like ancient civilizations, once again perceive death as a transformation rather than an ending? If the Etruscans surrounded their dead with objects of comfort, protection, and purpose, what would our own funerary artefacts be? Perhaps data crystals storing emotional archives, holographic companions that preserve our memories, or AI guardians carrying fragments of our identity beyond the physical body. In an age where memory can outlive matter, our artefacts might continue to "work" for us, sustaining our presence in virtual space.

Through humorous pseudo-archaeological fiction, I imagine a future discovery: the tomb of a hybrid entity named Princess Casino. Unearthed by archaeologists centuries ahead, the site reveals unexpected connections to Etruscan iconography - painted symbols, ritual banquets, and spiritual objects created to accompany the dead. The two-headed, bi-gendered figure rests on a plastic pedestal, surrounded by ceramic guardians and digital frescoes depicting intergalactic feasts. By combining myth, archaeology, and technological speculation, I explore death as a reflection of human evolution - both ancient and futuristic.

PRINCESS CASINO invites viewers into a liminal space between the physical and the virtual, where the tomb of the future becomes a site of continuity, imagination, and rebirth. The work reflects on how we might rediscover ways of approaching death not only as loss, but as a creative transformation of memory, identity, and existence.

*The title Princess Casino refers to the idea that in our present (and perhaps future) world, casinos remain among the few contemporary spaces that still engage - both visually and conceptually - with the aesthetics and materiality of ancient tombs.