"We stand, as it were, upon the borders of two worlds; and as the mood of our minds may be, we may gather lessons of profound wisdom by contrasting the one with the other..."
– Joseph Story, Mount Auburn Cemetery Consecration Address, September 1831

A Message from Mount Auburn Cemetery

Since 1831 Mount Auburn has been a place to commemorate the dead, console the bereaved, and inspire all who visit here. Nearly two centuries later, more than 100,000 people have come to be buried and remembered here while countless visitors have entered our gates seeking the healing and inspirational powers of this sacred space. In some ways, the seeds for SOLSTICE: Reflections on Winter Light were planted with Mount Auburn's founding. Like the cemetery, SOLSTICE has been designed with a careful balance of art and nature. It reflects the great dualities of life-- loss and renewal, sorrow and joy, endings and beginnings, darkness and light-- and recognizes that only with one is the other possible.

Grounded in these same themes, Mount Auburn has welcomed its community for a Winter Solstice gathering for the past thirty years. Taking its cues from nature's need to pause and reset during the winter season, Mount Auburn's annual gathering provided a space for inward reflection on all that had come before and all that was still to be. Drawing heavily from the tradition of placing lit candles in cemeteries to remember loved ones, thousands have figuratively and metaphorically brought light into the darkness for themselves and for others who have joined us in this community act over the past three decades.

While honoring these well-rooted traditions, SOLSTICE: Reflections on Winter Light brings new opportunities for connecting with Mount Auburn and experiencing its incredible landscape. We are grateful to our artistic partners, MASARY Studios, for helping us to show Mount Auburn in a new light– as a place of welcome where the natural world, the seasons of life, and human stories will always be celebrated. 

A Message from MASARY

Since 2020, we have been collaborating with Mount Auburn Cemetery to reimagine a winter solstice tradition on their grounds, fusing the alchemy of their history & tradition with our new media art-making through sound & light. 

Over the past four years we have formed a deep connection with the site, its caretakers, and the powerful energy that continues to weave through themes of gathering, mortality, and nature. The invitation to create monumental media artworks which embrace these themes and the dynamic prism of the winter solstice is an exceptional opportunity to embed ourselves in this tradition.

Presented this season, the artworks Hortus Gateway, In Stillness, Eclipse, and Solstice Canvas each hold their individual meaning while being curatorially connected to each other. Whether it be the remembrance of a loved one, a spiritual reconciliation to our place in local nature and the cosmic universe, or a quiet contemplation with oneself; our artworks are intended to hold these moments with compassion and allow a sincere personal experience to be felt deeply.

MASARY's vision is to offer artworks that foster personal meaning while building space for community. When you do join us, upon entering the front gates we invite you to slow down, take deeper breaths, and embrace the solicitude at Mount Auburn Cemetery to allow yourself to feel connected to this moment during our annual gathering of darkness and light.