Unknown Undead
Materials, Branches, Twine and Paper
2’7″ Tall
The piece is about how one philosophical death when the last preserved piece of a person is done. This is done through the metaphor of a zombie as a form of humanity that is both living and dead.The recipe on the arm is one from a person I never physically met so it is all I know of that person. If I was to let the recipe decay fall away it would be a final death. The recipe on the outside is also one that I really despise by letting it decay and I feel as if I’m trying to put the thing I grew up with behind me, to lay it to rest which in a way is probably for the best. The inside skeleton is made of twigs tied together by yarn. The idea of this piece is both to lament that lost knowledge but remember that in the end it will go back to nature by decaying the last living bit of the person laying them to their final rest. All the materials were meant to decay in order make it lose pieces over time as if it was a zombie so at one point you would see this top layer which would break off in parts to reveal a little bit of the layer underneath and the layer under that until nature has taken its course and the piece has complete a pseudo metamorphosis. The end result is supposed to be indicative of both death but the nature that comes after with the branches being the beginning of a new tree, a tiny sprout a new life grown from old paper turned back into its base component.
Comment by Linda Weintraub
Your choice of materials and the manner in which you present them offer fine interpretations of the Beyond Death theme. The idea of layering different substances visualizes a fascinating material drama that unfold over time. It will be experienced like a film or novel or choreography. Since Beyond Death is about process and change, this is great.
However, the drama that unfolds focuses on decomposition. Can you also incorporate the other part of the story that involves the beneficial use of the decomposed material to support new forms of life? This might be accomplished very simply by installing your sculpture in a planter that is partially filled with compost, and prepared to receive more organic matter. Perhaps the planter is where you can introduce the concept of a zombie that reanimates a corpse. A zombie is “a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic”, but here it is reanimated by the natural process of decomposition.
Final comments: I don’t understand your ‘recipe’. I do understand, and applaud, the idea of processed paper and twigs supporting the growth of a baby tree.
Is the white substance (plaster?) biodegradable? Polluting?