This ceramic urn, defined by its clear cylindrical form, softly rounded edges and a subtly raised lid, was designed by Liliane Boehm for Urnique, a company she co-founded. The company specialises in the contemporary design and distribution of urns and objects related to mourning culture.

The urn is understood not merely as a functional vessel, but as a designed object within the context of remembrance. The work is based on close collaboration with skilled craftspeople, where material, form and production are conceived together. At the same time, the object operates within a field that is often highly regulated and culturally defined. In contexts such as Germany, funerary practices are shaped by legal frameworks and established conventions that standardise many processes.

In relation to freedom, the work raises the question of to what extent the ways in which we engage with death and remembrance can be “designed”. It suggests that even within fixed systems, there remain possibilities to influence one’s “final form”, and with it, the way one is remembered.

Liliane Boehm is a designer with a focus on contemporary mourning culture, combining craft-based practices with new material and formal approaches.