Teleftea Katikia is a Greek expression which translates to The Last Residence, referring to the grave, the ultimate resting place of the deceased. The topic of death is a main theme in my work and I have often tried to imagine the ambient of an enclosed grave. I created a work where I attempt to recreate the sensation within a coffin.
I built a rusted cube. The interior was painted with ashes from my grandfather’s orange trees in Greece and filled with woodchips on the floor. Inside the cube, the only connection to the outside was a small window on the ceiling that allowed minimal light to enter. I, as my alive self, will never consciously experience the feeling of being buried. I tend to believe that when death happens I will pass to the state of non-existence. Everything will go black, no thinking and no soul, just my corpse in a coffin. However, is there the possibility that a certain consciousness remains in a dead body? If a soul does exist could it experience darkness or might there be a dimmed light coming from above, a glimpse to the world that the person has left forever. Each individual chooses to perceive the matter of passing from life to death in different ways and chooses to believe or not in existence after death. With The Last Residence I exposed my existential reflections and shared them with the public. The sensation I created in the environment allures the viewer to contemplate his deeply personal thoughts concerning his existence.
photos: Katarina Juričić
