Immortal Bodies: Preserving Connections Through Objects and Rituals
Author
Hesson, Nicholas
Abstract
The human body is often treated as a temple, where even after death the treatment of the
physical body displays its value and identity. Using inspiration from reliquaries, burials, and mourning
jewelry, the objects that I create become a pathway to history as well as a manifestation of people’s
spirits. I create enameled urns that personify different characteristics of people by using color, form, and
shape to convey the personality of whomever it would hold. In doing so I explore modern societal values
surrounding death and the various mourning practices that those values encompass. The visual language
I use to explore the abstract forms in my work is inspired by my long-held fascination with anatomical
illustrations and human anatomy. I utilize traditional metal forming techniques and digital fabrication
processes to produce these objects. The various methods serve to create a diverse lexicon of forms that
would be impossible to create otherwise. I develop the surface of each object using vitreous enamel and
patina to create a color, pattern, and imagery. Great care, intent, and labor is put into each vessel to
make them unique and create a deep and meaningful connection between vessel and viewer.
Subject
Death; objects; urns; reliquaries; metal; jewelry; art; enamel; memento mori;
Date
2023-04-27
Citation:
APA:
Hesson, Nicholas.
(April 2023).
Immortal Bodies: Preserving Connections Through Objects and Rituals
(Master's Thesis, East Carolina University). Retrieved from the Scholarship.
(http://hdl.handle.net/10342/12835.)
MLA:
Hesson, Nicholas.
Immortal Bodies: Preserving Connections Through Objects and Rituals.
Master's Thesis. East Carolina University,
April 2023. The Scholarship.
http://hdl.handle.net/10342/12835.
April 28, 2024.
Chicago:
Hesson, Nicholas,
“Immortal Bodies: Preserving Connections Through Objects and Rituals”
(Master's Thesis., East Carolina University,
April 2023).
AMA:
Hesson, Nicholas.
Immortal Bodies: Preserving Connections Through Objects and Rituals
[Master's Thesis]. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University;
April 2023.
Collections
Publisher
East Carolina University