Memento Mori

Memento Mori

We humans have developed diverse ways to manage, make sense of, and create meaning from our universal - and yet most mystifying - experience in life: death.

This includes endeavours to manage, guide, and control:

o    physical processes of decomposition

o    psychological, emotional, and existential/spiritual processes to deal with loss, trauma, and grief

o    social/relational transitional processes to preserve societal continuity

The Latin term, Memento Mori roughly translates to "remember that you die" and it is often expressed in artistic symbols representing the inevitability of death and the impermanence of life, e.g. skulls, still life images.

This Wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities) style exploration of death, funereal and memorial rituals includes curated artworks, collected artefacts, and fascinating information on the theme.

Content warning: The exhibition Memento Mori will include evocative artwork by several artists; images of cemeteries and possibly of coffins and hearses; artefacts and images from Dia de la Meurtos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico, and images from Zhong Yuan Jie (Hungry Ghost festival) in Singapore; information about preservation of deceased bodies, e.g. taxidermy, accompanied by a pair of galahs (novice-made examples) and possibly other, much better-made examples; open source images of Danish 'bog bodies'; open-source images of natural mummification; a naturally mummified mouse; promotional materials about plastination processes and exhibits; images from Nationalmuseet (National Museum of Denmark) of a mermaid skeleton; reference to vampire folklore and preventative funereal practices; and other potentially unsettling macabre exhibits.

Exhibition promotional poster: