It is not often you see beloved friends and family buried in a flurry of colour.
But for Gamilaroi/Wiradjuri artist Allan McKenzie, it is the least he can do.
"When a really dear friend of mine lost his son, one of the comforting things I could give back to him as a gift from my spiritual side of my connection to his son, was to paint his casket," Mr McKenzie said.
"I couldn't think of anything more I could do in that moment than just helping his family, his kids who were mourning the loss of their brother."
Mr McKenzie said the casket took five days to paint, and was imbued with meaning.
"In the settings of a yarning circle, I have the person represented by the spiralling circles of the spiritual presence of that person and the ripple effect of what mark they left in their life," he said.
"I allow the family to be able to write a message in a handprint to let their loved ones know they're not alone when they go to the Dreamtime, or when they go back to the other world."
At first, Mr McKenzie was hesitant about putting his artwork on a casket.
"Once I sat down and really looked at what I was doing and the reasons why I was doing it, I quickly bypassed that," he said.
"I've had aunties and uncles and family members of the loved ones come up to me, and full-on breaking down and crying. It's a very powerful thing.
"It's such an honour to do stuff like that."
Words of encouragement
Mr McKenzie said his father taught him most of what he knows about Aboriginal art in the bush at their hometown of Griffith, in the Riverina region of New South Wales.
Now, living at Avoca Beach on the state's Central Coast nearly three decades later, Mr McKenzie is known for his own take on dot paintings, which are brightly coloured rather than made using traditional methods with red ochre and charcoal.
"I copped a lot of grief back in the days, but I love vibrancy and I like things to stand out and resemble what you're trying to portray," he said.
"When I painted these caskets, the only thing that I could have in my mind was, 'I'm going to send these people out in style'.
"I want it to be vibrant. I want the colours, the emotions to be felt [and for] the connection; every dot, every colouration on that casket to really resemble something which means something to peoples' loved ones."
He has since painted another casket and encourages others to consider following suit.
"I'd love to see other fellow Aboriginal artists, and just artists in general get into artwork on caskets," he said.
"It's a part of life. It's something we've all got to face at some point or another in our lives and it's something we shouldn't be scared of.
"I can't think of anything more powerful than helping to give someone a small piece of closure, to let them know their loved ones leave their mark on a casket."
