Artist Statement for What Remains 

Through my exploration of death, I understand life. I create intimate drawings, paintings, and embroideries depicting scenes of death in nature that reveal universal truths of life, present in all living beings. One may think of humanity’s ‘civilized’  death rituals as what separates us from the natural world. However, death connects us to the powerful life force present in all flora and fauna. Just like a deer, we can find peace in our corpses nourishing new life on earth. Similar to crows, we cry out in grief and hold ritualized gatherings to commemorate the loss of a loved one. And in life, we understand all too well that at times we hold the power of the cat, gaining strength from the lives of others, and at times we are the sacrificial bird. Borders play a fundamental part in my depiction of these scenes. The borders, oval in shape, represent the continuous cycle of life and death, as well as the delicate border between them.  Through careful illustrations of death in the animal kingdom, I have found commonalities in the human experience.

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Further Reading 

Death on Earth: Adventures in Evolution and Mortality, Jules Howards

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory, Cailtin Doughty 

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