Museum of Me and Vanitas- Speculative Works
Continuing the theme of reliquary art I have started to explore how I can archive collected objects which have presence and meaning within my preserved memories. Taking a simple box (formerly my daughter's childhood art box)I have transformed its basic materiality into a container which has a richer aesthetic quality. Gold leaf has been applied to the outer surface with a copper tape edge. Both these materials have been worked into to embellish and craft a more intricate and rich surface. The inscribed text on the lid replicates the inscriptions from our old family bible. It was usual practice for christian families to record births and deaths in this treasured possession as a way to preserve memories of key familial moments. The latest inscription recorded was of my maternal ancestor Mary Ann Harriet Henwood who was born October 11th 1867. As a centenary year commemoration I have added my maiden name and birth date to the box's inscription using a similar serif script. Inside the box I have lined the inside lid with aged piano sheet music which my grandmother played. The various sized inner containers house an eclectic mix of objects which have connection to the ancestors inscribed. The large sepia toned photograph of my maternal grandmother looks out with a serious gaze. She occurs twice more within the box; firstly a small black and white photograph of her wearing an apron lines a small trinket box which has faded over time and the lid is missing a couple of bead embellishments which is evocative of possibly an impoverish existence; secondly she appears again in the centre of three people seated at a seaside location - she looks away into the far distance whereas my mother on the right hand side looks directly into the camera lens. This image has been coated with an encaustic layer which has been inscribed with the text 'crow would not tell'. The mystery of my mother's paternity will not be divulged and is stitched into obscurity, secretly buried with their remains. The remaining containers hold sacred symbolic references (relics)to the lives on my maternal ancestors. Each object has a story to tell and is carefully archived to create a rich tapestry of narrative. The box is becoming a reliquary artefact, a shrine to familial ordinariness, but also a semi-vanitas as it reminds us to live a happy and true life in this fleeting existence. All things fade and die, the reliquary is memento mori.
At the Wellcome Collection in London there is an extraordinary 18th century wax vanitas tableau. Sarah Jaffray explains in the video of the symbolic references employed in this oeuvre. Although skulls have always fascinated me I do not want to have obvious reminders of mortality in my work and will limit these and focus more on capturing likeness and presence within figures and objects.
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