Photography

The skull commonly symbolizes death and mortality. However, in some ancient societies, a crystal skull represents life. It is an object of pop culture and counter-culture, revolution and commercialism.

I created this large triptych from a skull-shaped bottle and was inspired by the cultish object in all its competing connotations. I sought to create a clean, informed elegance in the images, and found I had captured an almost refined product. It reminds me of a distant relative to the skulls that adorned Victorian-era studies and gothic libraries, but somehow also connects to ancient medieval witchcraft and rock’n’roll rebellion.

I was struck by how we voluntarily associate with skulls as art. There is a type of selective incentive to associating ourselves with them. What causes this strange decorative attraction? What is the almost cultish fascination we have with the darkness of the symbol?

In the center image, the front view of the skull is reflective. We see ourselves—our spirit, surrounded by some decadent, mysterious temptation. Our human spirit becomes decadence itself, vulnerable and unquenchable. The original glass object I used had at one point contained alcohol. Perhaps that is what inspired the blood-red liquid in the twin skulls on each side of the primary image. I was fascinated by the play of the liquid and glass and the symbolic implications a blood-red liquid brought to the skull theme. The presentation of the three skulls, I feel, creates a sanctuary or altar-like experience for the viewer in the gallery.