Lara H

IB VISUAL ARTS 2024

Curatorial Rationale

My exhibition focuses on the binaries of life and death, and the various ways you can interpret it. I take both a literal focus and a metaphorical focus to explore this topic. In particular, I focused on death and decay in nature, both for flora and fauna, humans included. Additionally, I explored the ideas of rebirth and reincarnation to emphasise that death is never a finality. I chose this topic because I believe to some extent in reincarnation, so I really enjoyed this topic and testing the boundaries of a given concept: death, that seems clear-cut and inevitable. I also enjoyed using a variety of different artforms as death can take many forms and express itself in different ways.

I was inspired by a variety of artists, most notably Angela Deane’s ghost photographs, which eerily highlight the death of innocence and childhood, as well as the painting Death (1897) by Janis Rozentāls, which illustrates the presence of death all around us.

One of the main focuses of the exhibition is how death interacts with nature, so I used a common motif of mushrooms, as they exist as an extant form of life; they decompose other matter, but when they themselves die they also decompose and grow new life from the nutrients they gave to the soil. This inspired my mushroom embroidery, with the quote around the edge ‘you cannot kill us in a way that matters’ borrowed from song lyrics.

Both embroideries feature a quote around the edge about the strength of forces outside of our control – death and time. The circular format draws the eye right to the centre of the composition and the colours unify them together, because I enjoyed making paired yet separate works. The grave exists as a reminder that death awaits all of us, represented by the footprints of a human peering down into their grave. The quote ‘time moves in both directions’ is from the book Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, which implies that memories don’t stay consistent, because as we move through our life, we view our childhood and our future differently.

Additionally, I used the motif of mushrooms in my lino print tarot cards. The prints feature two cards – ‘Death’ and ‘The Wheel of Fortune’ – which feature symbols of death and change: mushrooms and metamorphosis. The combination of the two cards traditionally symbolise a period of change which could manifest in physical death or metaphorical death, for example breaking old habits.

The video animations both show the repeating cycle of life and decay. Both focus on the growing and living that comes with natural life – whether flora or fauna – and the eventual decay that finds us all in the end. The natural decay of the flowers emphasises the rise and fall of life, and metaphorically represents the silver lining to bad situations – that beautiful things can grow from dark spaces such as the skull. The charcoal drawing animation follows a typical life experience of a human – starting as a baby, following them as they meet someone and have a life together, and eventually finishes with a grave as they die.

The photo collection is a series from my childhood with painted white figures replacing the younger versions of my family. It draws from my own personal experience, but applies to everyone’s childhoods. It’s representative of how our younger selves only exist in our memories, and how we can never get that time or those memories back, and how they act like a phantom in our present lives. Additionally, as we grow up, we lose our innocence, so I wanted to convey the death of who we used to be, and how the kids in those photos will never really exist again. The supermarket series emphasise a similar concept: that death is seen everywhere, even in the aisles of a local grocery store.

I chose to present my exhibition in a circular format to showcase the common motif of the cyclical nature of life and death, which is heavily featured in my own artworks. I placed each artwork around the circle to create an even balance on both sides, with the projections as centrepieces.

Artist statments

1.Phantom Photography

Acrylic paint on photographic paper

7 photos of 10 x 15cm

This set of photos from my own childhood have been painted over with white figures to emulate the loss of innocence from childhood, and the knowledge that you can never return to who you once were – our past becomes an apparition which follows us around. The photos are influenced by Angela Deane who carries a sense of nostalgia into her artworks. While the surrounding colours are bright to suggest a playful scene, the stark contrast of the white figures juxtapose this idea.

2.A Prediction of the Past

lino prints

2 prints of 24cm x 15cm each

This pair of lino prints draw influence from two tarot cards: Death and The Wheel of Fortune. The former signifies a major change in a person’s life, often the breaking of an old habit for better or worse. The latter represents opposing forces, the inevitability of change, and karma, which are major themes in many religions’ views of death. Together, they symbolise a period of change that will bring an end to something important, further symbolised by the motifs of metamorphosis and mushrooms.

3.The Fabric of Existence

Embroidery, thread on calico in embroidery hoop

Diameter 22.5 centimetres

Mushrooms are a repeating motif of life and death because they exist outside the realm of both. When they die, they give nutrients to the soil and allow other things to grow in their place. Decay exists as an extant form of life, because in the process of it there is still an inherent vitality and existence. The circular format of the embroidery draws the eye right to the mushrooms, which appear to be looking out at the world.

4.Time Moves in Both Directions

Embroidery, thread on calico in embroidery hoop

Diameter 22.5 centimetres

This embroidery depicts a phantom person looking into a grave, being in their present moment while always being aware of their inescapable future. A grave – physical or metaphorical – symbolises the mortality that awaits us all at the end of our lives, because it’s a part of the human condition to think about it. ‘It turns out that you can't predict the past either. Time moves in both directions… and what happens here and now changes them both’ – Everything Everything.

5.Death’s Endless Reverberation

Digital photographic animation,14 seconds on loop – projection 84cm x 47.5cm

This timelapse animation highlights the never-ending cycle of death and rebirth. The flowers, a symbol of life as they contribute to the decay of the natural world and the black skull represents the inert. The repetitive rising and falling (like lungs) is an emulation of the rhythm of life itself, emphasising the delicate balance of growth and decay. The flowers symbolise both life’s flourishing moments, as well as the inevitability of decline and decay, and emphasises that each end is a new beginning.

6.Promise of Renewal

Ceramic sculpture with flowers

13 x 12 x 12cm

The real flowers emulate the timelapse, which are used to show the rise and fall of the natural decay of life. They represent the natural world and the beauty of nature even when surrounded by death (symbolised by the skull). Flowers are placed in the eyes of the ceramic skull to show that there is a silver lining to any experience depending on your outlook, and that new things can grow and fill in the gaps left behind by experiences in the past.

7.Cycles in Charcoal

Animation, charcoal drawings on cartridge paper, 31 seconds on loop – projection size: 98cm x 56cm

This stop-motion animation progresses through the average life, featuring circular objects as a symbol for the human journey from birth to death, with the knowledge that death will always be waiting at the end. It was drawn with charcoal featuring visual qualities depicting movement to emphasise the brevity of life and how nothing remains static. Additionally, the circle begins small and misshapen, but gains shape as the video goes on, just as humans gain structure as we grow.

8. Aisles

Series of 3 Photos 22.5cm x 17cm each

Digital photographic collage

This series of supermarket photos overlaid with skeletons emphasises the omnipresence of death in all aspects of life – how it is found everywhere, including in the mundane aisles of a local grocery store. It’s interesting how the skeletons fit seamlessly into the supermarket environment, as though it was built to accommodate them. Additionally, the juxtaposition of grocery store aisles and skeletons draws contrast between nourishment and decay.

9. Final Journey

Oil on canvas

This oil painting positions the viewer in a plane over a city as the sun sets in the distance, imbued with cool, lethargic tones. The sunset is akin to the final moments before death – a sleepy presence enveloping one’s consciousness. A plane ride is similar to life – humans rise and live for a long time in the same body, although constantly moving, and finally sink down when they reach the end. Landing a plane has the same inevitability as the sun setting each day, and the finality of death.

IB VISUAL ARTS 2024

LARA H

Artist statments

Ifiyenia S

Lavina D