Three paintings of equal size, the one on the left shows a skeleton sitting at a vanity mirror, the central one shows a girl with dark hair sitting between two skeletons at a dinner table, and the right hand one shows a skeleton sitting at a desk with a typewriter and an hour glass.

Oakhill College

Memento Vivre

Painting

Acrylic on canvas

Vanitas paintings remind us that material pursuits do not exclude us from our inherent mortality. We often forget to live or to find out what it is to live when we let social constructs overshadow the importance of presence. Vanity outshines personality, our phones build lives more interesting than the people around us, and many work to live but end up living to work. My body of work is a reminder to think about and appreciate where we are, what we have, and what we wish to truly make of our lives while the phenomenon remains within our grasp.

My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: James Ensor, Skeletons Warming Themselves; Audrey Flack; Pieter Claesz.