Vanitas / Self-Portrait 35

Sealing varnish
Sealing varnish is traditionally used to protect letters, reliquaries or other documents from intrusion by unwanted persons.

Vanitas
I filled a table with some objects, which, thanks to their outline, are still fairly easy to recognize: there is a book, there are two pitchers and a glass, and there is a human skull. I covered this ensemble with sealing wax and gave this work the title: ‘Vanitas’. Vanitas is Latin for ‘vanity’ and ’emptiness’, the symbol of impermanence.

Immortality
The way the sealing varnish has sealed everything on this table hopefully prevents anyone from still breaking this seal, thus sabotaging the idea of immortality.