Death Mask 06

Artist’s Notes

The “Death Mask” series of photographs re-imagine an anthropomorphic Death in a more primal incarnation.

While the European personification of Death as the Grim Reaper was traditionally depicted (from around 15th Century) as a cloaked skeleton carrying a scythe, earlier depictions exist that differ greatly from this image.

The Ancient Greeks saw Death as a young boy called Thanatos, Norwegian and Baltic folklore portrayed Death as an old woman (Pesta and Giltinė respectively), and Latin American folklore has Santa Muerte (Saint Death), born of a syncretism between indigenous Mesoamerican and invading Catholic mythology, as well as La Calavera Catrina associated with the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).