0
Your cart is currently empty

Collection

Humilitas

(The Humilities of Life)

To understand the Humilitas Collection, one must first acknowledge the importance of the Vanitas (The Vanities of Life). Dutch Master paintings  of the 17th century tended towards historical painting, portraiture, and the domestic interior with subjects for the viewer to interpret. Vanitas, a sub-genre of still-life painting, became increasingly popular during this period, and is closely associated with a cultural phenomenon present in Early Modern Europe known as Memento Mori (Latin for ‘remember you must die’).  

Vanitas paintings are delicate and detailed. They are populated by symbolic imagery which forces the viewer to study the image. However, what Vanitas evokes, primarily, is a stark truth. It is true that we will die, and therefore we should give thought to our pursuits and daily practices. The still-life tells us of the futility of our earthly pursuits in the face of our impending death.

The influence of Vanitas on Debra’s Humilitas collection is significant, but at the same time her photographic montages diverge from them. In the Vanitas, objects often represent wealth and high culture, wasted food, music and books that only a privileged few of their era could enjoy. In the Humilitas, Debra explores the symbolic meaning of what are mainly items found in nature – items that are accessible to anyone who chooses to scour the shoreline, prairie or forest floor.

Animal skulls feature prominently (as opposed to human skulls in Vanitas) and represent both our evolving relationship with animals and the imaginings that they evoke as archetypes. Plants, feathers, crystals, fossils and shells are often used in compositions to support a story through their symbolism. Humilitas reflects on the abundance found in nature and our relationship to it. Man-made objects that are related to the animal subjects serve as a reminder of the hand of man and our influence over their well-being.

Each montage invites the viewer to find their own truth when contemplating the cycles of birth, death and rebirth as well as our treatment of the earth and the flora and fauna around us.  In this sense the Vanities and Humilities are similar, enticing the viewer to examine the passing of time and the meaning of their life pursuits in the face of mortal existence; and to return again and again to see things that may have been missed before.