STILL LIFE (2014)
Dried blood and acrylic display case, 162x50x18 cm
Still Life is a contemporary vanitas that explores the transience, fragility and mutability of existence. The work corresponds to a phase of acceptance within the process of mourning, as described in developmental psychology.
The piece consists of a transparent acrylic case whose width and length correspond to the dimensions of my body. One of its sides is coated with my blood, through which the words STILL LIFE appear in negative. Once outside the body, the blood begins to change: its cells oxidise and die, undergoing a gradual process of transformation. Spread across a non-porous surface, the blood slowly fades, cracks and flakes away, eventually becoming dust that accumulates at the base of the case.
The work thus records a slow but inexorable process of transformation, evoking the mutability of the flesh and the inevitable dissolution of the body.
This work received the Acquisition Award at the 2015 Encounters of Contemporary Art organised by the Instituto de Cultura Juan Gil-Albert and is now part of the Provincial Council of Alicante’s Contemporary Art Collection
Evolution of the work, with a 12-month interval between images
