How I view death

This seems to be an odd topic for having some spells of glorious weather and Autumn and Winter feeling far away...as in Dias de los Muertos and Halloween. So why now? Well, I have been thinking a lot about death, but only related to my art, because I am planning some new skull sculptures. I thinking of making a very weird and whacky sculpture out of a skull and that sometimes make me think wether people get it or find it disrespectful for the animal. So I need to explain myself.

I have done a couple of exhibitions and fairs and often people are surprised about the weird and whacky way I use bones and skulls. Material that once was part of a living animal and its soul. A lot of people are surprised for probably two reasons:

1. Thinking it might be a bit dirty or disgusting to use a bone and touch it. Is it clean?

2. To make something completely disconnected to death and the suffering of the animal, almost as if it didn't exist, almost as if this is just another ordinary countryside source of material to use in art.

I now understand that. I understand the first reason pretty well, but I have been driven more by curiosity than fear. I use gloves, clean them and often only pick them up when all flesh is gone.

The second reason gives me a lot to think about. I understand rationally why people might think that, but when I started making sculptures out of bones and skulls, I was completely unaware of that. I think For me it feels like a similar way of dealing with the dead like the Mexicans do during the celebrations of The Day of the Dead.

You can mourn in darkness, but for not having known the animal, I don't have an honest connection and so can't mourn. In that case I can only remember and for remembering I like to think about positive things and I think humour and colour is the way to remember positivity. 

This style also gives me the tools to build a bridge to people that normally disconnect from the bones and death because of its horrible and disgusting outcome. 

So every time you see my work, I hope you don't think it is disrespectful, it is my way to show the beauty of nature and how much I respect it.