"Everyday Alchemy"

Barbara Wildenboer

April 17-18, 2006

Any collection of objects on display can essentially be classified as a still life. All the different names of the still-life genre such as memento mori, nature morte and vanitas essentially have one common reference being that of lifelessness or death and the transience of life. The body of work on exhibition comprises of a series of still lives which are made up of objects collected during the period of the artist’s residency at the Darat al Funun. Most of the selected objects and images all have some symbolic or physical relation to cycles of life and death and notions of decay and transformation. The manner in which the objects were selected and displayed were however not based on any established taxonomy but was rather determined by personal memory as well as references to history, science and myth. The objects and images presented are also meant to contain elements of parody in the sense that they are displayed as having institutional authority and being authentic; while in fact they are merely part of an imaginary mythology that plays with the contrast between real and simulated artifacts.

See also:

> List of resident artists at Darat al Funun