Memento Mori Colour Flower Feast Ed. 6 of 9

Winner of the Bluethumb ArtPrize, Photography 2021

During lock downs I became enamoured with Dutch still life, Vanitas and Memento Mori sentiments. I dreamt of creating my own ridiculously oversized floral ode to Dutch still life. All the beautiful blooms in this picture are from the fabulous Castlemaine Floristry. As well as rich florals, this artwork is thick with Vanitas-style meaning. Birds in still life represent the resurrection of the soul after death. The skull of course is a reminder of our mortality, and the crown - well you can't take it with you! The unlit candle marks the passing of time, the snails remind us to slow down. Large shells symbolise lust and beauty, therefore hinting at lust as a sin and the power of temptation. Also a sign of death and frailty, as shells were often once homes for a living animal. What else can you read into the image?

This still life was photographed in my studio. The king parrot was photographed in Trentham, and the little insects were photographed in various locations.

Printed by a master printer

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Lauren Starr is an Australian photo-media artist whose work explores women’s stories through history, folklore, fairytale, and the Australian landscape. Drawing on colonial histories, personal ancestry, and mythic archetypes, she creates narrative works that reimagine the past through a contemporary lens.

Working with staged photography, painterly textures, and digital compositing, Starr constructs richly layered images that sit between reality and myth. Her practice is particularly concerned with memory, inheritance, belonging, and the ways women’s lives become embedded within landscape.

Recent bodies of work have explored female narratives from the Victorian goldfields, acts of re-wilding and reclamation, and the enduring relationship between women, story, and place.

Starr is the recipient of the 2022 Bluethumb Art Prize (Photography Category and Grand Prize). Her work has been acquired by Parliament House Melbourne and Bendigo Art Gallery, and has been recognised through the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, Olive Cotton Award, Head On Photo Awards, and other national exhibitions.