Brimstone

Maché

ARTIST: BRIMSTONE This project invited us to consider what we might pack in our suitcase for The Final Journey: 

there is nothing I want to take with me. Instead, Chrysalis symbolises all that I want to leave behind to allow my eternal being to be free. The human-size piece is made from papier maché. This medium has been used for centuries in the burial rituals of many civilisations including ancient Egypt and is still used today, for instance, in Mexico for Day of the Dead celebrations. Essential oils traditionally used to anoint the dead such as sandalwood, frankincense, cedarwood and jasmine have been incorporated into the mixture.  

The shape references the sarcophagi found in various ancient cultures including Egypt, Greece and Rome. The paper I have used comprises documents relating to elements of my life that have been limitations, and from which I will be liberated in death.

Chrysalis represents the constant cycle of life and death we observe in nature.  It seeks to illustrate the necessity for one phase of life to die for the next stage to emerge, highlighted by its already decaying form: what may seem like a sad loss is actually a joyful transformation. The footprint suggests that all lives leave a (sometimes hidden) imprint through our interconnectedness. 

Chrysalis also symbolises the progression through death and rebirth which forms a fundamental tenet of many belief systems. This is my first exhibition piece.  Due to my physical (and technical!) limitations, I couldn’t have realised this work without the help of others.  My gratitude goes to them.  

A good life is an interdependent one.