The Cardboard Box Shrine
In a time when we are constantly being displaced and disoriented by the shifts in the world, the constancy of sacred objects and places cannot be depended upon as they once were. This pulp-based shrine is a reminder of our collective fragility and also serves as a hopeful ritual where a few lines and words are enough to make something palpably and visibly sacred for each of us. The Cardboard Box Shrine is made with easily soiled and destroyed materials - ready to go back to the earth when it has served its purpose.
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This specific shrine is dedicated to all the aunties we know who have offered shelter and comfort to us in their homes and hearts: to the aunty who greets us each morning at work, to our mother's sibling who offers us a second serving of dessert, the strangers we meet and chat with for a moment, to the elders in our midst who are our chosen family of warmth and solidly good advice. This saint manifests differently to each of us, and sometimes we only see flashes or facets of them - but we can only know of them through the people we live with and around us.
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The Cardboard Box Shrine is an extension of the Sainted Aunts Project, begun in 2020 for the SEA Queer Cultural Festival 2021: https://seaqcf.net/program/book-sainted-aunts-illustrated-portraits-mildly-martyred-sinners-turned-saints-queerdom
How to Make Your Own Cardboard Shrine to a Sainted Aunt
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While you make your cardboard shrine, you may choose to listen to a queer playlist, take notes while listening to a financial podcast, chat with a friend on zoom, wait for bread to rise and bake…do all the things that the daily grind tosses at you.
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The sainted aunt knows that life is full of errands and things to do. Sometimes it is necessary to rest from all that. Other times, it is important to take the rest you need in spite of everything else.
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Select a cardboard box to use for your shrine. If you don’t have a box (and it can be anything from a shoebox, biscuit tin, moving carton, or even a Tupperware container, folded origami box…) you can also use a drawer or pouch.
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Think about what your sainted aunt means to you:
Who is this sainted aunt?
Where do you sense them?
What does the sainted aunt do?
When does the sainted aunt speak to you?
How do they act as guides for you?
What does this sainted aunt look like?
Who reminds you of this sainted aunt?
Why do you feel drawn to this sainted aunt?
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Gather items that help you resonate with what your sainted aunt means.
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Give yourself time to arrange the items in your shrine. You may not have all the physical items you need to make the shrine feel “complete”.
In the meantime, you can doodle or write out a rough description of this these items. Identifying and naming what you need is a form of existence and manifestation of these presences.
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Decide on how to consecrate your shrine. You may welcome your sainted aunt with a formalised ritual, adapting it for your own comfort and needs.
You could also drink a cup of tea or have a small feast with your sainted aunt, showing hospitality the same way others have invited you into a space. It can be as simple as a poem or chant that serves as your way of activating the shrine.
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Explore ways of contemplation and being with your shrine. The cardboard box allows for privacy, containment, and easy storage. You may choose how, when and why you choose to be present with the shrine. Only you will know best how the shrine and its sainted aunt works in your life.
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When the time comes, the cardboard shrine may be dismantled, lost, given away or otherwise set free. Cardboard boxes are made to disintegrate – we are not supposed to expect them to last through the ages. Let the shrine live its natural lifespan – and if it inspires you to do so, make another.
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If you would like to share, you mau submit the form below to leave something to this sainted aunt - or even leave a link to photos of your shrine!
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