How would you commemorate the life of your cat?

We all now know that fellow Catster Vicky Walker has adorned her mantlepiece with the skull of her beloved Scooter, alongside the cremated remains of kitties passed. We all have our own beliefs and rituals and methods of remembering loved ones lost.

If you’re Dutch artist Bart Jansen, then the ritual of death is a, well, uplifting one. You see, after his cat — who was named Orville — was fatally hit by a car, Jansen decided to see him off to heaven — literally.

Jansen, whose artwork is concerned with meaningless yet functional invention, transformed the remains of poor Orville into a remote-controlled helicopter. It took several attempts to outfit Orville with proper wings, but the “Orvillecopter” is now fully operational, and Jansen recently debuted his creation at the KunstRai ArtFair in Amsterdam (ah, so that’s how he got the idea …).

While Orville may have met a tragic end, he now lives on in Jansen’s art, which is quite possibly the greatest form of commemoration an artist can provide for his muse. Jansen says that Orville was always fond of watching birds … and now he can fly with them, soaring high among the clouds.

Via the Los Angeles Times