Jody Kuehner / Cherdonna Shinatra

Metals and Matter of You is a multi-genre performance where my persona Cherdonna Shinatra acts as a grim reaper/death doula, guiding audiences through death, decomposition, and consciousness. Created in collaboration with Recompose, a queer women-owned Seattle green funeral home specializing in human composting, the project mirrors their transformative work, shifting death from fear to care and compassion. The project uses Cherdonna’s childlike, unfiltered persona to explore mortality with humor and vulnerability. Additional programming includes lecture/demonstrations led by myself, Katrina Spade, and guest experts, connecting audiences to burial alternatives and the environmental, social, and emotional dimensions of death.

Caretakers of Land/Land Acknowledgement: Seattle occupies the unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish, Suquamish, and Muckleshoot.

Estimated Artist Fee: Estimated cost for a one weekend performance (three shows): $15,000