AD MEMORIAM

Crying, bowing, worshipping with burlap and ashes while being extatic with the joy of oncoming freedom.

What is it like to mourn? How do we feel when we need to let go of the precious things in our life? David Reijer de Haan questions these things and more with Ad Memoriam, a work that is directly influenced by De Haan’s own mourning proces. During the period that he made this work, he underwent deep therapy sessions and a difficult road to self-acceptance in the ‘letting go’ of the things he dreamed of and gave worship to. He confronts these subjects himself while making the observer aware of their own mourning processes.

The ‘painting’ is hung in an installation of wood and metal, contrasting the room with its presence and forcing the observer to be confronted: there is no way you can ignore your own mourning. Running away is futile for mind, body and soul. De Haan desires for the observer to undergo a transition of healing and freedom through this piece.