Goodbye Michael, Goodbye Old Friend – Antonia Rolls – http://www.antoniarolls.co.uk/my-work.html
Death can be found in the news on any day, but the following links all follow recent news regarding art relating to personal struggles with death and grief.
At Penn State University, the work of Jennifer Rodgers is on display. Rodgers paintings of abstract shapes and maps detail her father’s illness and death in a hospital. Her story is featured on NPR.
In the UK, artist and death doula Antonia Rolls will exhibit a series of paintings titled “A Graceful Death”. Originally inspired by her husband’s death from cancer, Rolls’ paintings depict people living with a life-threatening illness and in the days and moments approaching death. The UK’s KentOnline features info about her upcoming exhibit. Learn more about her work on her website.
In Indonesia, paintings by Myuran Sukumaran have caught the eye of human rights activists opposed to the death penalty. Having learned to paint while in prison, his self portraits illustrate grief, anger and protest of his death sentence by firing squad, for a drug smuggling offense. Sukumaran was executed on April 29, 2015. Read more at the Guardian.
