VANITAS is an interactive object, that deals with the subject of dying.
HOW
Clear liquid is dripped onto a steel bowl, that is heated by an oil candle. Steam is generated, which is collected by a large glass vessel. The steam is led upwards and hits a sieve. This slows down the steam and splits it into fine swaths.
WHY
The object reflects personal experiences with life and death: Sudden circumstances take beloved people out of life. Not only illness take people their autonomy: At the same time they are handed over to a machinery in which they are left alone with themselves. A process of dissolution begins, life becomes air. VANITAS wants to portray this experience, share it with the viewer and create a moment to pause and remember. The sterile laboratory aesthetics of the object refers to such a dying environment. Candlelight symbolises memory or eternity in many religions. The rising steam represents the transience of life, its capture the difficulty of remembering.
