Die Reise – wie ich mir zu sterben wünsche

Die Reise – wie ich mir zu sterben wünsche (The Journey – how I would like to die) explores people’s wishes – not only for their final moments in life, but also for all the things they would like to experience before they pass. Everything is possible, even the impossible. The artist Ingeborg Lüscher interviewed a hundred and fifty people, and what they told her is published in this book in anonymized form. Black-and-white photos by the artist are scattered rhythmically between the texts. While they might initially be mistaken for stars in the night sky, upon closer examination they reveal themselves to be images of lichen on large dark stones.

Ingeborg Lüscher (*1936) is a German Swiss artist. In the 1970s and 1980s, her photographic works and pictures of people outside of the artistic mainstream became increasingly ephemeral and spiritual. Her works explore fundamental topics like life and death, light and darkness, and they cover a very broad artistic spectrum and avail of a wide range of different media. In 1992, Lüscher received her second invitation to take part in the documenta in Kassel, where she presented some of her sulphur works. She was awarded the Prix Meret Oppenheim in 2011 by Swiss Federal Office of Culture, the highest accolade for artists in Switzerland. In 2025, she received the Hans Platschek Prize.