Can-Opic Viscera Soda by Lucy Foakes
London-based artist Lucy Foakes brings a refreshing twist to the Ancient Egyptian use of Canopic Jars. Before today I didn't even know about Canopic Jars so here's a little history lesson. Early on in the practice of mummification all the major organs of a body were removed except for the heart. The Egyptians placed each organ in a separate Canopic Jar decorated with a human or animal head. The different heads represented one of the four sons of Horus whose job it was to protect each organ.
Egyptian canopic jars
The jackal head is Duamatef, who guards the stomach.
The baboon head is Hapy, who protects the lungs.
The falcon head is Qebehsenuf, who guards the intestines.
The human head is Imsety, who protects the liver.
The Canopic Jars were then buried with the mummy in a sarcophagus. Later on better embalming techniques allowed the viscera to remain in the mummy. But the symbolic nature of the jars persisted and they remained a part of the burial.
Lucy describes the cans as "metaphorical fizzy drinks for parched pharaohs in the afterlife." Each can includes a cartoon anatomical illustration of the represented organ. And, of course, each can is "served stonecold."
View more of Lucy Foakes's work at cargocollective.com/lucyfoakes.