Artist Writings
Chris Lea. Fur Carvings. 2020
This is the skin of an animal, reared and sold as raw material in a fast food industry, this creature was a commodity within the disposable food chain economy. Shaped and carved, honored with gold, the skin is transformed. In the public eye, it becomes an object worthy of remembrance. The skin is the image. Is it a memento of remembrance or a memento mori?
A memento mori is a reminder that life is short, and time is irredeemable, suggesting that we might consider how we use our remaining time as living beings.
A memento of remembrance has different connotations. Graced by a human gaze, the animal is redeemed from oblivion. It has a material life beyond death and it will not be forgotten, posing the question will you be remembered?
What do we fear when it comes to the fact of dying? An inconspicuous fear may be the fear of being forgotten; the fear of fading into oblivion. This fear is hidden perhaps because it brings us into direct confrontation with meaning. Why are we here? Who will remember us, and for what? What is a good life and what is a good death?
The skin asks the viewer for respect, to look again at the animal. It is encouraging to imagine that if the image is understood, the viewer might reconsider some priorities of how we treat living things.