MEMENTO MORI

All Saint's Day 2002
Mo-Fr 12 am - 3 pm
Mo-Su 6 pm - 3 am

Sargfabrik
Goldschlagstraße 169
A-1140 Vienna

In the German-speaking world, the announcement of someone's death differs considerably from region to region. The thick black margin of mourning that once adorned every obituary notice is now provided on special order only. The very descriptive Swiss term for such obituaries, namely "circular of suffering", was a key trigger behind Sylvie Proidl's series "memento mori", which calligraphically deals with the transitory nature of life. The words obituary notice, death, mourning and pain are repeatedly inscribed in various languages on stuccolustro plates. The narrow horizontal or narrow vertical formats are designed to represent slices from the in- to the outside.
The pastel hues and the open structure convey the past and the subtle colors underscore the transparency of bygone epochs.
The paintings were first exhibited in the poetry reading "Nyctivoe" by Dimitris Lyacos, whose book focused on the issue of finiteness.