Memento Mori

Good day to you, yet cheerful reader on this day of All Hallows' Eve. (If you could read that greeting in a Vincent Price voice for those of you old enough to know who the hell he was, that would really help you get the feel of this post).

The topic today is suitably morbid, but essentially artistic. The work of Jo Smith. 

Small deaths in the domestic environment.

The loss of beloved pets, in this case two rabbits , Twitch and Stripe. Killed by a mystery illness that saw them waste away, nothing could be done to save them.

The poor poor sisterly kitties, killed by fleas before they even found their way into the bosom of Jo's family home. Dying needlessly from neglect at the hands of their 'breeder'.

And the last in this deathly trilogy, dear sweet mousey, attacked and murdered by the house cat.


I'm totally fascinated and drawn to Jo's work. It has a dark Victorian fairy tale vibe that I find unsettling yet engaging.

Jo Smith is a textile artist, BA hons Fine and Applied Art, Embroiderers Guild Scholar 2012.