Skull painting by Tamassia Martins
Gallery acrylic on cold-pressed cotton paper
Black & Red Series
I wanted to make a connection between a skull, as a symbol of death but also as a symbol of eternity. Skulls are mentioned throughout various religious texts and have different meanings and connotations, but not always that of death. For example, in India, where I lived for three years, you see skulls worn by their gods as necklaces or bracelets, showing their ability to conquer death itself or their ability to live eternally. In Tibetan Buddhism, which I studied briefly, their gods wear skulls as a garland known as mundamala, depicting Buddhists’ concept of emptiness, which is considered a quality of the universe. So, I wanted to capture a skull’s dark yet definite relation to immortality. A rock band later auctioned this painting as part of an album release.
