The Conversation of (my) Mortality
Are images of skulls and skeletons necessarily images of death? This was one of the questions that occurred to me as I entered the Wellcome Collection's latest exhibition Death: A Self-Portrait, and one that stayed with me throughout the show. Constructed entirely out of the unique collection of one man - Richard Harris, a retired antique print dealer from Chicago - the show is presented as a portrait both of the collector, and of humanity in general, through the process of reflecting on mortality.
The presentation is masterly. Nice touches in each room - here a mantelpiece under a painting, there a false set of drawers turning a standing case into a desk - make the display feel like a personal collection within a house. Quite the cabinet of curiosities! The objects are thematically displayed so that you get striking combinations of Dutch vanitas paintings with modern abstract collages, Tibetan ritual vessels with American contemporary photographs. The different rooms get you to think about Contemplating Death, Violent Death, the Dance of Death, Commemoration and the tense link between Eros and Thanatos (death and love). Some objects are traditionally beautiful, some quirky. My personal favourite is Death as a small, tin 'Gentleman on [a] Green Table.'
The 'Self-Portrait' framework is effective as we see Death constantly personified as a skeleton, as well as artists contemplating their own death, Harris collecting as a means of conversing with his own, and are inevitably led to consider each our own fragile life. What I would have liked is a greater presence of Harris in the interpretation of the exhibition. The opening panel introduced him as the collector, but it was not clear whether the themes for each room were part of his rationale for acquisitions or developed by the Wellcome team. The resource room at the end included an excellent video interview with him, which could have been given greater prominence. Likewise, I feel some sort of comment display by visitors would have encouraged greater interaction and conversation in situ. What objects do we each keep that are associated with death?
This is not to say that there wasn't conversation. I saw groups discussing almost every piece in the show. The Wellcome's usual flair and energy has created a visually and intellectually engaging show that easily repays multiple visits. I left with many questions, some of which are surely the point, to continue the conversation with my own mortality. But what I really wanted to know is how, and whether, Harris lives with this collection, death literally all around him.