Laurie Anderson's new exhibition, Forty-Nine Days in the Bardo, made its debut at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia last month. The exhibition, which runs through November 19, uses the structure of a diary and The Tibetan Book of the Dead to explore the themes of love and death, the many levels of dreaming, and illusion. This two-floor exhibition include texts as well as drawings, sculptures, projections, and sound and are made from materials including mud, foil, iron, chalk, and ashes.

"In The Tibetan Book of the Dead, also known as The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo, the bardo is described as the 49-day period between death and rebirth," Anderson explains. "The book is a detailed description of the way the mind dissolves and what the spirit experiences in this transition. In April 2011, Lolabelle, my small rat terrier died after a long illness. For 12 years she had been my constant and faithful companion. Counting the 49 days from Lolabelle’s death I realized according to The Tibetan Book of the Dead Lolabelle would be reborn on June 5, my birthday."

Earlier this month, Anderson was on hand at the Fabric Workshop and Museum for a performance/lecture entitled "Animal Stories," in which she relayed a dream she had about Lolabelle and its larger implications. You can watch an excerpt from the performance here:

Anderson has created a short video in which she walks viewers through the exhibition Forty-Nine Days in the Bardo and discusses her process for creating the works for it. Watch it here:

For more information the exhibition and visiting the museum, go to fabricworkshopandmuseum.org.

To pick up a copy of Anderson's latest album, Homeland, head to the Nonesuch Store, where orders of the CD/DVD include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the music at checkout.