I enjoyed the ‘Death’ exhibition at Wellcome Museum in London so much, I was really pleased to discover that in my home city of Bristol, the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery were now also hosting a temporary ‘Death, the human experience’ exhibition.

I’m not sure I can put my finger on why I find the symbols of death so interesting.  Perhaps it’s because it seems in equal parts mysterious and scientific.  Perhaps because it’s shared globally, and has generated a wealth of interpretations, art and narrative.

As we busy ourselves with Life, it becomes richer for recognising Death.

I made my way to the exhibit and spent so long drawing and studying each artifact that it closed before I could see it all.  I’ll be back to take in more.  In the meantime, I’d like to share with you some of the sketches I did manage to get down on paper.  The exhibition runs until 13th March 2016, if you’re in the area.

In my travels I’ve picked up and visited some interesting death artifacts of my own:

Sedlec Ossuary, Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

The Old Operating Theatre, London

The Last Laugh, Mr Jones Watches, London

Tin sugar skull, Mexico

Doorsteps of cat owners the world over.

Illustration from the book Duck, Death and the Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch