The Memento Engine

May 13- May 31, 2024

A memento mori (Latin for remember death or remember that you have to die) is an artistic convention representing mortality and the shortness of life. It is commonly represented through symbols such as a human skull or hourglass, juxtaposed with fruit, flowers and other perishable items. Examples of this manner of art are uncommon today, most prominent in European art from the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries.

This exhibit features five random objects reimagined as possessing a manner of degrading mortal human spirit. In-between states are shown to represent both time and the process of image creation.

Curators: Stephen Singer / Duyen Thu Pham