Dr. Paul Koudounaris – Memento Mori
Exhibition and book launch – release
April 3 – 26, 2015
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 666-7667
Opening Reception: Friday, April 3rd, 8-11 PM
Also showing – Scott Hove Pussy Jihad
Dr. Paul Koudounaris returns to the gallery at La Luz de Jesus with his latest, and by all accounts greatest, macabre display. The world’s leading photographer of the visual culture of death, his new book Memento Mori represents a kind of magnum opus. Having traveled the world for over a decade documenting the use of human bones in sacred contexts, he has distilled beautifully morbid photos from over 70 countries into a single package, filling the new book with the best-of-the-best, from Indonesian burial caves, to gilded Asian mummies, to jeweled German skeletons, to Bolivian skull festivals. And the finest of these images will be on display as part of a show which will open with a book signing on Friday, April 3. His work in the past has received incredible popular interest, with his previous books, Empire of Death and Heavenly Bodies, both winding up on various top ten lists, and his photos going viral across the internet. Crossing boundaries, his images have appeared in incredibly diverse genres of publications, with write ups around the world in both low brow and high culture magazines. Proving that death can be beautiful, his photos have inspired the work of a wide group of artists, tattoo professionals, and fashionistas–even fashion designer John Galliano has borrowed from Koudounaris’s images for runway designs. The show at La Luz de Jesus is a kind of last go-around, since, after ten years among the dead, Koudounaris has decided that it’s not possible for him to top the material contained in Memento Mori, and has indicated that it will be the end of his work with human remains. The last is usually the best, and this show promises to be a sumptuous visual feast which proves that while death may always be a mystery to the living, it can also be a source of awe and inspiration.
for interview opportunities, hi-res images, and a book PDF, contact me!
Memento Mori
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 1 edition (April 14, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0500517789
ISBN-13: 978-0500517789
Product Dimensions: 9 x 1 x 13.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds