Coffin Show : Going Out in Style

BERLIN (Reuters) - Coffins shaped like a fish, a giant onion and a Mercedes saloon have gone on show in Berlin in an exhibition on sepulchral culture aimed at reminding Germans they can go out in style.

The exhibition opened in Berlin on Thursday and features chic black-lacquered and gold encrusted caskets by German and Italian designers alongside novelty shaped coffins created by the African artist Kane Kwei.

"Customs like wearing black for mourning are old-fashioned and many people feel the issue of death is never addressed," said Jutta Lange, a spokeswomen for the Museum for Sepulchral Culture, which is curating the exhibition. "We try to help them find new ways to express their grief."

The museum in Kassel, central Germany, was founded in 1951 and aims to raise public awareness of grieving rituals and help people talk about issues related to death. Traveling exhibitions like this one in Berlin is part of that endeavor, Lange said.

Berlin Cathedral houses the more traditional exhibits, such as coffins dating back four centuries. Dussmann, a major department store, is displaying the contemporary pieces that could prove controversial, a cathedral spokeswoman said.

"Death is something people avoid discussing," said Martina Tittel, managing director of Dussmann.

"We want them to come face to face with the unusual side of burial rites -- funerals don't have to be quiet churchyard affairs."

The most sensational coffins on display were those created by Ghanaian-born Kane Kwei. He took the inspiration for his coffins from the burial culture of the Ga people, a major ethnic group in Ghana.

According to Ga tradition, caskets should be made to reflect objects that played a particular role in the deceased person's life, such as the church, a flour sack or a sports shoe.

Visitors to the exhibition held mixed views:

"I am happy to see a change in the way we approach burials," said Ingrid Reichel, 53. "People have different views on death. It's good that individuals can choose a coffin to suit them personally."

But for some people artist-designed caskets were too extravagant and highlighted today's individualist attitudes.

"It's amusing in a macabre way but just shows how vain and self-important some people are if they spend so much money on a coffin," said Ruth Freydank, 68.

German Second World War veteran Lothar Hoffmann added: "I can't see the point in fancy coffins, we're all the same when we're dead.

"I was in the Dresden bombings in 1944 and saw men carrying corpses with their bare hands -- after seeing that, being buried with a big fuss or just in a paper bag is all the same to me."