The last days of the DEATH BE KIND gallery project are drawing near and our final show

“The rest is silence”
opening 6pm on Tuesday 8 November 2011.

The exhibitions title "The rest is silence”, are the dramatic last words uttered by Hamlet in the final act of Shakespeare’s celebrated play, and perchance apropos for DEATH BE KIND’s concluding show to an eighteen month program of curated exhibitions about death by Claire Lambe and Elvis Richardson.

While the subject of death as an enduring theme in art and culture will never rest in peace, has death’s iconic poster child – the skull, become disoriented as the established signifier of human mortality? The skull can be found adorning a child’s flannelette pyjama set, or shaped into a glass bong, or encrusted with diamonds by a famous artist, but can we see past the cliché and still respect the message?

"The rest is silence" exhibition has been conceived to create a mass object of skulls as an experiential installation where the gallery space becomes a catacomb or a funerial skull cave if you will. Accompanying the exhibition is a printed book that captions the stories behind the skulls and celebrates and critiques the proliferation of skulls in contemporary art and culture.

Perhaps this very plethora of skulls is necessary in our contemporary lives to iterate the reminder, ‘life is finite’. Maybe the skull is in concert with the white noise of environmental, economic and social crisis and damage that auto tune the soundtrack of our everyday lives.

And death is a certainty in all our lives; as soon as we are born we are capable of dying. DEATH BE KIND gallery project has collected together ideas, memories, fears, humour and hope to explore the rich relationships between art and death.

Please join us as we close the book on this last chapter and face the final curtain, with an exhibition and a publication “The rest is silence” Death and the skull in contemporary art.

Opening at 6pm on Tuesday 8 November 2011 and runs until 11 December 2011

The Rest is Silence: Death and the skull in contemporary art will be launched in February 2012. The book includes skull images and stories by the 100 artists in the show, in addition to some oldies and goodies and some fresh and new. A collection of essays by Christine Schmidt, Helen Macdonald, David McInnes and Helen Huges and introduction by Claire Lambe and Elvis Richardson.

To order a copy of the book visit:
www.deathbekind/book_order.html

Order before December 11 and receive your book in early February 2012

 

DEATH BE KIND could not have operated without the dedicated assistance of a team of interns Dani Hakim, Jess Kelly, Jade Bitar, Ellie Robinson.

DEATH BE KIND would also like to thank Christine Schmidt whose expert assistance has been invaluable for this project.

DEATH BE KIND would like to thank Lisa Young, without her generosity and vision the gallery would not have been possible.


View DEATH BE KIND blog
compiled by Dani Hakim

 

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

"The rest is silence" DEATH BE KIND Photo: Christo Crocker

Opening Hours

Friday 6-8pm
Saturday + Sunday 2-6pm
or by appointment
ER: 0401346520
CL: 0448 381 651

Upstairs @
THE ALDERMAN
134 Lygon Street
Brunswick VIC 3056