visual artist
MEMENTO MORI
Un punto vidi che raggiava lume
acuto sì, che 'l viso ch'elli affoca
chiuder conviensi per lo forte acume.
I saw a point that sent forth so acute a light, that anyone who faced the force with which it blazed would have to shut his eyes.
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Death, afterlife. These are hardly the go-to topic of conversation with your friends. But ironically, death is thrust in our faces almost every day – we hear about it on the news or in the movies. So why are we so at pains to ignore it?
This artwork is inspired by a verse of Dante's Divine Comedy (Paradise 28.16-18). The black flies, symbol of death in Japanese culture, are made of leaf skeletons and represent the souls of the departed attracted by the Light. The gold background is a tribute to Rinpa school master Tawaraya Sōtatsu.
