Inspiration: The vanitas genre, rooted in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish still-life painting, served as the conceptual foundation. Its recurring motifs, skulls, hourglasses, candles, and flora, carry symbolic weight around mortality and the passage of time. Artists like Pieter Claesz and Maria van Oosterwijck informed the visual language, while Neal Auch and Jan Fabre shaped the darker, specimen-based direction.
Frame & Backing: The ornate frame was sourced secondhand and fitted with a plywood backing cut from scrap on hand, glued, screwed, and secured with a wall-mounting bracket. A custom 3D-printed euro mount was attached to hold the skull. Everything was painted matte black to unify the surface.
Painted Assembly: With the assembly painted, the wood grain of the plywood subtly reads through the matte black, an unplanned detail that adds texture and depth to the background.
Skull Mounted: The springbok skull, sourced from an ethical specimen shop, is centered. Its horns extend dramatically into the upper portion of the frame, creating the vertical tension that anchors the piece.
Finished Piece: Copper wire vines woven through the horns and across the backing complete the piece, adding warmth and contrast against the dark surface. The copper intentionally represents the living, botanical side of the vanitas tradition, separating organic from inorganic.
