Grave Decisions is an exploration by artist Louise Fullbrook of cemetery waste and loving tributes collected from site. It's on display for the month of April in the crypt beneath the Anglican Chapel. Entry is free.

The cemetery is a beautiful place for all to enjoy, but staff and volunteers constantly clear away windswept floral tributes and spent decorations along with the mountains of plastic flower wraps and balloons. Without this work, what would our burial grounds look like?

The artist says:

"Over the last few years, I spent many days at the cemetery. Not only does the time spent here assist our journey through grief, we sometimes make lifelong friends. As part of my journey through grief I collected, cleaned and arranged these discarded flowers, creating still life images.

I had been studying the Dutch masters and their fine art paintings when I decided to create artwork from my findings from rubbish piles and bins. The idea came about when I realised how old some of these funeral flowers are and questioned what happens to all of this debris once in the bin. With a love of floristry I wanted to create images which would spark the imagination and in turn inform the viewers of damage caused by the visitors to Arnos Vale.

Is it about time we took responsibility for our own decisions?"

What if we could create a change; a future using organic and biodegradable materials to make arrangements using traditional methods? Avoiding the use of floral foam and plastic trays, flower wraps and unnecessary sachets of flower food along with thousands of fake flowers. With skill sharing workshops, we'll be able to make these changes happen.

How about making your loved one's grave plastic free from 23?" 

Get involved

There is a workshop as part of the exhibition enabling anyone of any age to create beautiful, natural, organic, recycled or recyclable arrangements to commemorate a loved one.