Kinship is a unique undertaking in the artistic career of one of Ireland’s leading artists. This book, and the artistic project it is part of, charts the act of returning a mummified body of a man to Egypt. This book, produced in conjunction with Dorothy Cross’s newest artistic project, charts this unique journey, drawing in new writings from some of the best contemporary writers from around the world, who write on and around the themes of the Kinship project – migration, home, refuge, crisis and the process of return. 

In 2019 Dorothy Cross recalled a story of an Egyptian mummy that had been hidden away in the archives of the anatomy department at University College Cork for decades. For Cross, the next step she needed to take seemed as natural to her as any of her work – the mummy and sarcophagus must be returned to its homeland. In beginning this act, and this journey, Cross set out to create an event across place and time, with music, literature and celebration – an act of kinship. 

As the body returns to its home across the Mediterranean, the Kinship project would again draw attention to the present-day plight of thousands of migrants who, fleeing their countries, attempt to cross those same waters. 

Featuring writing by: Max Porter, Sonali Deraniyagala, Edmund de Waal, John Fitzgerald with Nadra Mabrouk, President Michael D. Higgins, Rosemary Mahoney, Hisham Matar, Philippe Sands, Ahdaf Soueif and Dorothy Cross.