Memento Mori: Triptych - Mixed media, Digital Print size; 303x294.
Memento Mori was made as a response to the unexpected death of a close relative. The suddenness of the death and the bureaucracy that followed were difficult to manage. A postmortem was performed to establish the exact cause of death. Postmortem procedures are hugely invasive, authoritarian, and, enact a form of state violence on the body of the deceased. In many cases postmortems are unnecessary, merely confirming what is already known. Ironically, it seems, without announcing beforehand their imminent death and cause to the authorities, people are no longer allowed to die of old age or with dignity.
The artwork was made with found objects. A three-sectioned glass box that looked like a pathologist’s display, rolled-up paper with electric wires protruding from its centre that resembled a human heart, and a large clear plastic bag that had blackened and charred and now resembled a diseased lung. I made an imaginary death mask fabricated with plaster, and, after positioning one object in each of the sections, I filled the tank with water and powdered dyes.
Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder