Death by Design, Co.™

Death by Design, Co.™, a special effects and video-based company established by Michelle Maynard and Teena McClelland, converted Gallery 400’s space into a film set in which visitors were invited to engage in an in-depth conversation with life through their own “Hollywood” death. Visitors to the gallery had the opportunity to construct, enact, and document a custom on-screen horror movie death scene of their choosing for a small fee. With this project, Maynard and McClelland sought to offer a safe vehicle for exploring ideas on myth, storytelling, cinematic illusion, celebrity, and our own mortality.