Memento Mori

Memento Mori 1 – Stepping Off The Edge and Memento Mori 2 – Be Happy (Throw Your Soul Open To The Sun)

These two quilts, Memento Mori 1 – Stepping Off The Edge and Memento Mori 2 – Be Happy (Throw Your Soul Open To The Sun), were inspired by a Victorian sampler in the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum’s collection. The original sampler was stitched by a young girl and included a prayer. This led me to think about the idea of memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning “remember you must die.” In medieval and Renaissance art, it was common to include symbols such as skulls, clocks, and fading flowers as a reminder to live a good life because time is short. 

In Memento Mori 1, I brought together a number of visual references to that idea. These include a small bronze figure stepping off the edge, a raven, a child’s balancing toy, an honesty seed head in a pot, and stitched quotes from Shakespeare and Omar Khayyám. The quilt is about the passage of time and the idea of stepping into the unknown. Even the clock hands are made from words, based on a phrase I saw on a clock at Snowshill Manor. 

Memento Mori 2 continues the theme, but with a slightly different feel. It still reflects on life and death, but the message is more focused on enjoying the time we do have. On one side there is a stitched self-portrait that hints at the skull beneath the skin, and on the other side there are golden crosses and a more celebratory tone. “Be Happy” is stitched into the quilt as a reminder to enjoy the world while we can. The stitching is based on cross-stitch, like the ones found on historic samplers, but I have also used gold leaf and freehand sewing. Both quilts combine imagery from the museum’s collection with personal and symbolic elements. 

I have exhibited work in the UK, USA, and Australia, and I am proud these two quilts were purchased by and are now part of the Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum collection. It feels fitting that they began with inspiration from the collection and now belong to it. 

 

Memento Mori 3 has stalled for a while but is still under construction.