Memento-mori

Images have long been a source of fascination and comfort for me. A decade after the death of my brother, Robert, I found myself searching the web for pictures to do with mortality. What I stumbled on was advertising photos of mortuary hardware. Designed to discretely or serenely transport dead bodies, or to store them in cold-rooms, these objects ‘stand-in’ for our own or others’ bodies. In this way the paintings function like traditional memento-mori. But also, because the objects here have been staged and lit (for use in commercial catalogues), there’s a conscious act of presentation, an allusion to art-making itself. The last painting in the series isn’t to do with death, it’s a drinks trolley, but I really like it, I like how bare it is. Often memento-mori or vanitas paintings would display food and drink alongside a skull.