This work explores the phases of grief and the process of coming to accept a death, through a series of linoleum prints exploring a narrative within my bedroom. The prints are of a single scene, showing a vase placed upon my windowsill, and comprise a combination of four separate linocuts: the framework of the room, the sky, the vase, and the curtain. Each print features uniquely manipulated linocuts, using changes in composition, shifts in printing pressure and page placement to explore shifts, overlaps and discrete stages within a grieving process.

Still life paintings have long focused on showing the mortality of human life such as the Vanitas style paintings flourishing in the Netherlands during the early 17th century, when each object had a clear relation to death or the futility of worldly pursuits, such as a skull or a burning candle. In my prints, I build on the conventions within still life paintings while departing from them by focusing on an object’s location within a wider space, rather than a study of the object's form and colour.

By situating the scenes within my bedroom, I explore a personal demonstration of grief: Exploration of mark marking and variety in pressure applied to the print have enabled me to illustrate opposing atmospheres, a familiar disjunction incurred when grieving. The composition of the print within the piece of paper evokes a purposeful atmosphere. For example, allowing a print to subtly grow across the page speaks to a sense of confusion whereas, arranging the prints slightly off-centre marks an uncomfortable shift. When applying a large amount of physical pressure to the piece of linoleum, the harsh contrast between the black ink and the white page seems to display the unequivocal and definite nature of death. However, when less pressure is used, the atmosphere is entirely different, potentially making the image harder to recognise, embodying a sense of turmoil. The irreversible and forceful act of cutting away from a piece of lino was also significant and the linoleum pieces, with all the cuts and grooves used to elicit the image from them, are presented alongside the prints.