“What Is Sarx Doing?” is an illustration book for children which tries to find a way of communicating the topic of death. This project was created for the Graduate Diploma Art & Design at the Royal College of Arts. Inspired by the chosen object for this project; Sarcophagus of Nectanebo the II and the belief in life after death and the way it was cherished in the Ancient Egyptian culture, this idea bears the elements of the arefact itself alongside my personal interpretations. Reflecting back on my own childhood experience I remember being frightened the first time I grasped the meaning of death. Therefore, I have decided to create this illustration book for children, interpreting life after death and how we keep the people we have lost alive in our hearts and in our memories. I focused more on the feelings and thoughts a child might go through also based on my own experience. The aim of the story is to give an example of a character who is going through something similar and how he manages to handle those feelings which might be helpful and explanatory. The name of the character stems from the word sarcophagus which in Greek formulates as sarx meaning “flesh” and phagein “to eat”. And the design of it was inspired by the main rock used in the creation of the sarcophagus; conglomerate. The illustrations are based on some of the stories depicted on the sarcophagus, such as; sunset symbolizing death while sunrise symbolizing birth. How sometimes a stone coffin is placed into the sarcophagus and the fact that the person falls into an eternal ‘sleep’ inside of it.

1. A story about life, death
and what happens later

4. Every beginning has an end
Each and every ray of sunligh of the new day is
followed by the darkness of the night
Sometimes some people go away
and we never see them again.

5. What do you mean I will never see you again?

6. It got dark, silent and scary for a moment...

7. This was a brand new feeling,
is there a way out?

8. The most important thing to remember
is that you are not alone.

11. Sarx lost a friend too.
The sunset ended yet another day passed without his friend.
So he took his time to think and remember... Remember how
much they enjoyed to watch sunsets and all the beautiful colors
it creates in the sky with his friend.

12. They went hunting together a lot and shared their food with
each other.
Now his friend’s favourite food became one of Sarx’s favourite
foods too.
With every bite Sarx was thinking about his friend.

15. There are times when Sarx feels better by surrounding himself
with something familiar.
It can be a place to hide, or a person who thinks and
feels the same.
The most important thing is he knows that taking care of himself
would make his friend happy and that put a smile on Sarx’s face.

16. Sarx always thinks about his friend before he goes to sleep and
often sees him in his dreams.

19. Day by day Sarx felt better and not because it got easier.
Because every day he found new things which reminded him
of his friend.
Starting a new day meant exploring different ways and
remember more stories which reminded him of his friend.

20. Just like Sarx’s different ways or through many other
special ways we can always keep our loved ones close to us.

21. In our minds,
and
our hearts.

24. Story and Illustrations
by