Yakira
Sameth.
While I first focused on the fear of gun violence, recently my relationship with death changed after I attended 3 memorials. Rather than simply lament, we celebrated our loved ones’ lives. I shifted my investigation to the dual nature of death. How do cultures honor and mourn the dead?
I wanted to commemorate the gay ballroom scene, which flourished amid the AIDS crisis, with voguing skeletons in a forest. Then, I returned to the common ritual of leaving flowers at graves. I investigated other traditions, like the Dixieland funeral. Initially, I sketched skeletons around a casket but shifted to a joyous street procession. Next, I collected sticks to experiment with multidimensional art to illustrate an Indian cremation. I also studied Norse funerals, revising my original sketch to add detail to the skeletons, terrain, and flaming arrows. Next, I depicted a family portrait for El Día de Los Muertos, researching Mexican altars, decorations, and costumes. After wildfires spread worldwide, regrowth rose from the ashes. I wanted to emphasize the before and after in a diptych. Finally, I returned to fear when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived. The universal panic parallels the Black Plague.
