After extensive development on this creation, my first exploration of this type I have discovered that i somehow I got it right the first time. My works using the gorse flower instead of roses, inspired this piece didn’t have the final outcome I intended. Although I explored scale as way to make them effective, and for the image not to be hidden by the full nature of the gorse flower, the final image just didn’t cut it. The classic image of the rose with it’s natural focal point being from above, lends itself to this work more than the gorse flower. The arrangement of flowers coming out of the skull at different angles creates a more exciting image, and although I used the same technique with the gorse flowers, they didn’t have the same effect.

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Although I was afraid of the romantic connotations of roses, I feel the rest of the Memento Mori symbolism within the work out ways that of the roses. Roses are also a common flower to lay on graves, which I feel will be apparent to the viewer. There is also an element of smell within this work, and after using the spare room in my house as an experimental exhibition space, I find the smell of wilting roses more effective. Roses are also a flower that invite the viewer to smell them when they are fresh, adding to this effect.

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The cracked texture of the background helps bring the skull forward, and gives the impression the skull is almost breaking free from the work, and also shares imagery with my experimentation with using yogurt as a background texture. The sad drooping effect of the wilted roses also helps to exaggerate the theme of death and degrade, adding to the idea that piece loses it’s worth over tme.