momtomb: the table-tomb by Wolfgang Natlacen

wolfgang natlacen
momtomb, 2010
saint-maximin stone, 6 tonnes

funerary monument for patricia legrand,
still alive.
churchyard of mons-en-montois, france

wolfgang natlacen at the table, on his mother’s grave. photo le parisien tv, 2015

the work

In 2010, Wolfgang Natlacen had a grave carved for his mother, the artist Patricia Legrand, who is still alive. A table and its benches in white stone, set on the vault. Everyone is welcome to sit at it, to eat, to talk.

stone: Saint-Maximin limestone, 6 tonnes
seats: ten, around one table
vault: six places, opening at the front, under the gravel
plot: 2.50 × 2.50 m
opening: 8 August 2010, with a meal
house rule: no red wine, no lemon

the idea

“In the Philippines, people eat on and next to the graves.”

a friend from Manila, quoted by Rue89, June 2011

Manila

For All Saints’ Day, Undas, Filipino families keep watch around the graves for days: they eat, play cards, listen to music. Natlacen wanted the same for his mother.

Milan

When his father died, he found monuments designed by artists in the cemeteries of Lombardy. He decided to draw the family grave himself.

sketch of momtomb on paper, in blue ink — sketch

3D render of the table and benches — 3d render

the stone

Seven blocks, six tonnes.

Blocks of Saint-Maximin limestone chosen at the Ouachée-Corpechot quarry. One of them was meant for the restoration of the church of Saint-Sulpice. They arrived rough in the village, in the yard of the smallest art-house cinema in Seine-et-Marne.

dimensions in cm, after pierreactual no. 2/2011. hover over a block.

The carving

summer 2010, yard of the mons-en-montois cinema

a rough block lifted by a crane at the quarry — the quarry

a masked sculptor carving the stone — under the striped tent

three people sanding a block under a green tent — sanding

sculptors bent over the large block of the table — the table, a monolith

Carved by Nada Pivetta, Daniela Novello, Patrizia Novello and Mimmo Pontillo, with Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Adrian O. Smith and Alice Jeannel.

the table hanging from a forklift outside the churchyard — setting, by briois

three men guiding a strapped block — guiding the stone

the forklift between two wrought-iron crosses — between the crosses

two men setting a bench — seven pieces, one monument

momtomb in place, seen from above, in front of a bush — in place

handwritten letter from Patricia Legrand to her son, dated 27 July 2010 — letter from mam, 27.07.2010

the mother

“Creation is a little death.”

Patricia Legrand is a painter and sculptor. It took her almost two years to accept the project, then she chose, with her son, the Italian sculptors who would carve her grave. Three years of exchanges between the two of them, up to the opening.

“You don’t realise how lucky you are to have a mother who lets you do this.”

“You don’t realise how lucky you are to have a son who builds you a grave.”

rue89, June 2011