As a commemoration of Rookwood Cemetery’s 150th Anniversary, a collaborative art project was hosted on the site. ‘Hidden 2017 ‘ included 40 installations in a Rookwood Cemetery Sculpture Walk from the 26th August – 24th September.
My giant skull mosaic ‘the Storyteller’ filled the space between adjacent head stones drawing on Day of the Dead iconography.
The calavera is a common motif in popular culture. Immediately accessible and less bleak than a skull, it tells the unique story of a life once led. In this work I use individual and painstakingly created ceramic tiles as symbols of the eternal cycle of life; butterflies, the sun, leaves and sprouting plants. Combined with found objects; little pebbles and broken pieces of of treasured crockery. The flotsam and jetsam of our ordinary lives creates inexplicable patterns. The eye sockets contain miniature scenes like memories. A Momento Mori glittering light and colour that conversely reminds us to live our lives now.
