One way to know ourselves as individuals, communities
and nations is to look at the way we die
and the rituals we perform
around death.
How We Die
I have been fascinated by death for decades –yes, the countless ways we die but also that we die at all.
Why bother being born if we are destined to die? What is the point? What would our lives be if we were not always evading the fact that we die? Would we live differently? More fully?
After all, these bodies will cease to be. What are we waiting for to start living? What are we afraid of?
Thoughts on Death
Not all deaths are physical. One subject let her persona die so she could live authentically as a transgender woman.
Two posts for this project involve violent deaths. The research for these paintings has moved and disturbed me greatly. I include them in this series as the sole markers of violent deaths. The subject will be covered in depth in the War/Violence series.
This series will explore the rituals, practices, and beliefs -- formal, personal, serendipitous -- around death everywhere.
