Memento Mori

Working with the 'hand' font I created from the 17th Century plate, I used AI to help me generate new memento mori mottos. I was drawn to the poetic notion of AI helping us humans process our own mortality. The mottos here read: "In Clay's Embrace", "Life's Fleeting Breath", "Memoria Formamur" (Latin for "Memory forms us") and "Argilla Tactum Tenet" - "Clay holds the touch".

The cups become vessels not just for tea but for contemplation - carrying these mortality reminders in objects we bring to our mouths daily. There's something intimate about drinking from a cup inscribed with words that remind us of our temporary nature, our connection to earth, and how touch leaves impressions that outlive us.

The saucers are bisque fired porcelain deliberately encouraged to warp, as porcelain has physical memory and will return to the first shapes it creates during firing. I call these saucers 'platelets', referencing the connection between clay and our blood, which contains cellular forms of the same name; one forming the vessels we drink from, the other flowing within the vessels of our bodies. The shared name highlights how materials of the earth literally sustain and compose us.

Memento Mori Cups
2024
Slip cast porcelain cups