The Memento mori exhibition dealt with themes of death, mortality and grief, and the quest for immortality. The show developed out of a call for submissions called Fibre Inspired. The call was based on a trend I had observed in contemporary art towards creating work using the techniques and aesthetic of fibre, but using non-fibre materials. I was struck by how radically different these submissions were. They were dark both physically and thematically. Nothing in the show was actually made of fibre.

The central question became why are these artists choosing to use fibre construction techniques, but replacing the fragility, impermanence and tactility of fibre materials with hard, 'permanent', and difficult to manipulate materials such as stone, bronze, metal, wood, bark, ceramic, plastic, wire, solid paint and wax? The exhibition created an underworld environment. Mummification was a central theme. This process attempts to preserve and make immortal the ephemeral body. Finally, no underworld would be complete without an escape, which was symbolized by one of the artworks.

The exhibition was set up in opposition to the show De rerum natura (On the Nature of Things). That exhibition was filled with life, colour and energy. It focused on plants, animals and nature. (See interview part 2 for that show).