OHNE TITEL I 2023
We grow, we flourish, we go through phases. We are continuously transforming. And so does the world around us. A flower sprouts, grows, blooms and spreads its seeds again — until its life circle repeats itself in this way.
This artwork is part of the series Natura Morta - Still Life - Stillleben.
While the three artworks that form the series all deal equally with the theme of „constant transformation“, each of the works represents a different phase in the eternal cycle of life and death.The works are linked by a poem that connects the pieces in a wider framework - the cycle of life and death.
Suffering
A last scream in pain
Muscles cramping
It stops breathing, beating, pumping
A vulnerable being collapsing in the wild
Fragile bodies transforming into corps
Sinking into a soft bed of moss
Covering up its broken bones
Like a warm woolen blanket
It absorbs the life
We get told
Is leaving the vacated body
But in a way
It suddenly is dead no longer.
The bodies bones, skin and cells
Dissolve, sink in the earth
Like a seed sprouting in the soil
Coming into being again
We think of death as the absence of life
But are beginnings reliant to an end?
The poem begins with an narration of the very last moment before death. It depicts the suffering and the final physical reactions that accompany with dying, such as the cramping of the body‘s muscles or the stopping of the heart beating. After the creature finds its final resting place in nature, plants like moss surround the corpse like a soft and warm bed. With the life having escaped from the remaining body, the poem describes the decay of the corpse. The individual fragments of the cadaver gradually decompose and sink into the depths of the soil on which the fragile creature had previously collapsed in agony.
DESCRIPTION
While the hanging branch can be seen as the fragile and vulnerable skeleton of an animal that has undergone a painful death, the felt fabrics can be regarded as the remaining, lifeless scraps of skin of the creature‘s corpse. The many ramifications of the branch might also be reminiscent of veins, which establishes a connection to the human or animal body. Furthermore, a crucifix can also be recognized in the hanging branch.
To provide the art work with sufficient space, the branch was positioned hanging from the ceiling in a spacious corner. The work is attached with a simple jute cord, which has been attached several times around the individual twigs of the branch. The way these cords are attached can remind of a hanging, emphasizing the agony and suffering of the art work.
TITLE
Since there are numerous beliefs and religious conceptions of faith and therefore the question "What does death mean?“ can not generally be clearly defined, the answer to this question lies with each individual. The work aims to provide each person with the freedom to answer this in their own way and for this reason does not attempt to define the meaning of death. Thus, it was decided to leave the art work untitled. In order to adapt to the language of other works in this series, the German translation "Ohne Titel“ was chosen.
