Memento mori at Hiša kulture, Pivka (SI), 2019
Photo: Jaka Babnik / Courtesy of the artist
Memento mori
Memento mori is a Latin phrase that means “remember death.” In art, it is used to denote works that thematize human mortality and the transience of the world in general. The theme of memento mori in visual art is usually represented by characteristic symbols such as skulls, hourglasses, candles, fruit, and flowers. Sonja Vulpes, however, places a strong emphasis on figurative motifs. The figures and portraits, half skeletal and half fleshy, serve as a metaphor for ourselves — now, at death, and after it. In some places, they are accompanied by crosses, flowers, and candles as associations with the end, but at the same time as symbols of hope. The element of humor present in some of these works tries to depict death not as something frightening and final, but playfully, as a new beginning after the end. The artist draws inspiration for the memento mori motifs from everyday life, her own fears, and reflections on who we are and where we are going. She presents the theme in large-format graphic works using the collograph technique, accompanied by simple smaller-format monotypes.
Year of production: 2019
Text: Mojca Grmek, curator at Hiša kulture in Pivka
