Einfall Beyond Spontaneity

The Sarcophagus of Lun Freud.

This piece was created in response to a site-specific project for the Freud Museum, London. The museum is the house that Freud escaped to during the Second World War. Freud came to the house with everything he needed to feel comfortable and homely including his family, his housekeeper and his dog. A dog was an important member of his family.

Freud thought dogs had a special sense that allowed them to judge human character. He also felt that the presence of a dog had a calming influence on his patients. When Freud moved to England his dog at the time Lun was quarantined for six months before being reunited with his master, a disturbing experience for Lun and Freud no doubt. During the last months of Freud’s life Lun couldn’t go near to Freud due to the smell of his decaying wound caused by the cancer in his jaw.

This must have been an uncanny experience for the dog and Freud. Freud talked about the uncanny being ‘that class of frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar’. Freud was fascinated by ancient Egypt. The collection of antiquities in the museum includes an abundance of Egyptian artefacts, including Shabtis, mummification bandages and many statues. These findings lead to the creation of a mummified version of Lun Freud. The piece was placed in front of the fire place in Freud’s study. Lun could be reunited with his master in the afterlife.
For more information, visit the project webiste