This is quite a change from my usual style, but I seem to have made a shift from macro to still life – or in this case, still death… I knew I would find a use for the collection of animal bones I’ve found recently while wandering the woods(yes, I am very strange – I also have quite a large collection of feathers, too).

The skull and other bones are from a female Roe Deer (the other bones are its vertebrae) and a bird, I’m not sure exactly which but probably a starling or a blackbird.

The flowers are roses, though I cut them from their stems and left them to wilt a bit. I also used some rose petals, and the longer bright red petals forming a cross in the top image are from an alstroemeria.

In post=processing I applied canvas textures to give the images more of an old, wethered feel to match the textures of the bones and flowers.

I fel like I was up to some dark magic putting these together… or possibly white magic? I don’t think the final images a re quite what you would call “goth”, maybe more whimsigoth, or witchy?

Momento mori means “remember death” or “reminder of death”, inspired by this Susan Sontag’s quote:

“All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.”

Thanks for visiting,

Kaylin x