Shapes of Our Grief
Shapes of Our Grief
A multisensory ritual installation
We live in a world saturated with grief, yet it often remains unseen — humming beneath daily life. Shapes of Our Grief is a participatory ritual installation that invites us to acknowledge grief in its many forms, transforming its weight into resonance, release, and renewal.
We live in a world saturated with grief, yet it often remains unseen — humming beneath daily life. Shapes of Our Grief is a participatory ritual installation that invites us to acknowledge grief in its many forms, transforming its weight into resonance, release, and renewal.
We live in a world saturated with grief, yet it often remains unseen — humming beneath daily life. Shapes of Our Grief is a participatory ritual installation that invites us to acknowledge grief in its many forms, transforming its weight into resonance, release, and renewal.
Through a communal altar and tactile ritual, the work offers a space of permission, reflection, and quiet connection around the universal experience of loss.
Through a communal altar and tactile ritual, the work offers a space of permission, reflection, and quiet connection around the universal experience of loss.
Through a communal altar and tactile ritual, the work offers a space of permission, reflection, and quiet connection around the universal experience of loss.
Guided through a self-paced journey, visitors are invited to let the invisible become visible, where grief becomes something we can touch, witness, and carry together.
Guided through a self-paced journey, visitors are invited to let the invisible become visible, where grief becomes something we can touch, witness, and carry together.
Guided through a self-paced journey, visitors are invited to let the invisible become visible, where grief becomes something we can touch, witness, and carry together.
The Inspiration
Shapes of Our Grief is a participatory ritual installation that invites us to acknowledge grief in its many forms, transforming its weight into resonance, release, and renewal. Through sensory ritual and communal altar, it offers a space of permission, reflection, and quiet connection around the universal experience of loss.
Visitors move at their own pace through a series of gestures (choosing, writing, releasing, hanging, sounding) allowing what is usually invisible to become felt, held, and shared.
Inspired by grief traditions around the world and Francis Weller’s teaching that grief must move so it does not calcify, the work uses touch, sound, scent, movement, and earth as vessels for transformation. It is rooted in the belief that ritual can soften grief’s edges, create communal holding, and reshape our inner landscapes.
This altar is also born from personal memory. It draws from ema offerings and fūrin chimes of Japan, and from the wind chimes that hung in my mother’s garden. Across cultures, chimes connect us to the elements, to ourselves, and to spirit. Wind (unseen yet deeply felt) is like both breath and prayer. What if invisible grief, too, could be heard, seen, and felt?
This installation weaves personal grief, cultural reverence, and collective need — creating a space where grief can be known, not hidden; move, not stagnate; be carried together, not alone.
The design is shaped by the belief that material carries meaning. Every element was chosen for symbolic and emotional resonance: the circular form of the altar echoes grief circles and communal holding. Soft textures (felt and muslin) offer comfort where tenderness is required. Earth-based materials (seed paper, soil, wood, dried florals, ceramic clay) speak to the natural cycles of loss and renewal. Scent supports the nervous system along the ritual arc: Frankincense for warmth and grounding, Hinoki for emotional release and breath, Ho Wood for gentle uplift as you depart. This work is the first seed in an ongoing exploration of grief, sensory design, and experiential space-making.
Artist Statement
Sarah Jutras (she/her) is a multidisciplinary designer and creative director who brings stories to life through visual and interactive mediums. Her work seeks to make the invisible visible — giving form to the unseen layers of intention, emotion, and meaning that shape our experiences. As founder of Huzzah Studio, she has led design projects for brands and businesses that bridge the digital and physical, using aesthetics and emotional storytelling to cultivate resonance and connection. Her participatory installation, Shapes of Our Grief, explores loss, healing, and the role of design as a vessel for feeling and transformation.
My deepest thanks to the collaborators, mentors, and loved ones who helped shape this work through guidance, craft, presence, and spirit. With gratitude to Melanie of Electric Lady Florals (floral design) Melissa of Muddy Heart (bell maker) Erik Jutras, Whitney Henry-Lester, Marisa Silva, Tiu de Haan, Suprita Makh, Laura Hess, Danielle Morris, Heidi Sanders, Erica Steimetz, & Martin Olive for your support, reflection, and encouragement along the way.
And to my mother, Francine Wohl (May 27, 1958 – Nov 6, 2020) whose love and absence continue to ring through every strand of this work. Thank you to everyone who has shared their grief, or stood beside another in theirs.
The Inspiration
Shapes of Our Grief is a participatory ritual installation that invites us to acknowledge grief in its many forms, transforming its weight into resonance, release, and renewal. Through sensory ritual and communal altar, it offers a space of permission, reflection, and quiet connection around the universal experience of loss.
Visitors move at their own pace through a series of gestures (choosing, writing, releasing, hanging, sounding) allowing what is usually invisible to become felt, held, and shared.
Inspired by grief traditions around the world and Francis Weller’s teaching that grief must move so it does not calcify, the work uses touch, sound, scent, movement, and earth as vessels for transformation. It is rooted in the belief that ritual can soften grief’s edges, create communal holding, and reshape our inner landscapes.
This altar is also born from personal memory. It draws from ema offerings and fūrin chimes of Japan, and from the wind chimes that hung in my mother’s garden. Across cultures, chimes connect us to the elements, to ourselves, and to spirit. Wind (unseen yet deeply felt) is like both breath and prayer. What if invisible grief, too, could be heard, seen, and felt?
This installation weaves personal grief, cultural reverence, and collective need — creating a space where grief can be known, not hidden; move, not stagnate; be carried together, not alone.
The design is shaped by the belief that material carries meaning. Every element was chosen for symbolic and emotional resonance: the circular form of the altar echoes grief circles and communal holding. Soft textures (felt and muslin) offer comfort where tenderness is required. Earth-based materials (seed paper, soil, wood, dried florals, ceramic clay) speak to the natural cycles of loss and renewal. Scent supports the nervous system along the ritual arc: Frankincense for warmth and grounding, Hinoki for emotional release and breath, Ho Wood for gentle uplift as you depart. This work is the first seed in an ongoing exploration of grief, sensory design, and experiential space-making.
Artist Statement
Sarah Jutras (she/her) is a multidisciplinary designer and creative director who brings stories to life through visual and interactive mediums. Her work seeks to make the invisible visible — giving form to the unseen layers of intention, emotion, and meaning that shape our experiences. As founder of Huzzah Studio, she has led design projects for brands and businesses that bridge the digital and physical, using aesthetics and emotional storytelling to cultivate resonance and connection. Her participatory installation, Shapes of Our Grief, explores loss, healing, and the role of design as a vessel for feeling and transformation.
My deepest thanks to the collaborators, mentors, and loved ones who helped shape this work through guidance, craft, presence, and spirit. With gratitude to Melanie of Electric Lady Florals (floral design) Melissa of Muddy Heart (bell maker) Erik Jutras, Whitney Henry-Lester, Marisa Silva, Tiu de Haan, Suprita Makh, Laura Hess, Danielle Morris, Heidi Sanders, Erica Steimetz, & Martin Olive for your support, reflection, and encouragement along the way.
And to my mother, Francine Wohl (May 27, 1958 – Nov 6, 2020) whose love and absence continue to ring through every strand of this work. Thank you to everyone who has shared their grief, or stood beside another in theirs.
Connect
Because grief must be tended to over time, my hope is that this work is only the beginning. If Shapes of Our Grief resonated with you — if it stirred something, softened something, or opened a question — I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’d like to share reflections, explore collaboration, or support this project as it grows into future installations and community spaces, you’re welcome to reach out.
Because grief must be tended to over time, my hope is that this work is only the beginning. If Shapes of Our Grief resonated with you — if it stirred something, softened something, or opened a question — I’d love to hear from you. Whether you’d like to share reflections, explore collaboration, or support this project as it grows into future installations and community spaces, you’re welcome to reach out.