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Mr. Smith
Jim Skull, 2007
Pièce unique Original sculpture
H: 120 cm 47 in.
JIM / skulls
A unique expression of time passing, of the ephemeral, of the finitude of our existence on
Earth, the sight of a skull generates a form of anxious certitude in each of us.
For when all traces of our fleshy envelope disappear, devoured by multiple corpse-feeders
and polished by the vicissitudes of time, doesn't the skull remain the supreme visible corporal
element, the ultimate material souvenir, the last proof of a past existence?
But also, when used as a pictogram indicating the presence of danger and of toxicity, it calls
out to our collective unconsciousness. And then it awakes caution in us, or even fear, and
irremediably reminds us of the fragility of our condition as mortals.
At a time when places of worship are freeing
themselves from all presence of human relics
and museums are banishing mummies or
any other parts of the human body from their
exhibitions, to use the skull to a creative end is
a seemingly impossible challenge, an intrepid
undertaking, a foolhardy--suicidal, even--act.
And yet, Jim Skull dares to do it, crossing the
blurry line of taboo with robustness and force,
but all the while maintaining that lively, juvenile
freshness that makes the object more beautiful.
And, while he may suddenly bring us face to face
with our own fears and existential questions, his
work lightheartedly illuminates the darkness
within us.
I still remember the first time I came face to
face with his work, inexorably suggesting a
question to me, one which I posed with candor,
asking if each of his supports was an authentic
human skull... While his answer reassured me,
finally it is of little importance, for the veracity
of the human origin of the skull is permanent and omnipresent, so much does is it at the
basis of all things... Mineral or vegetable, natural or manufactured, ancient or modern, solid
or multicolored, dull or glossy, soft or hard, supple or rigid, everything contributes to an
omnipresent universality in the work of Jim Skull.
And when he decides to emblazon his skulls using a flowery, eclectic system of symbols in
an almost ritualistic way, he then reawakens our link to our origins, all the while projecting
us into the reality of our future: our ineluctable and imminent disappearance from the land of
the living...
In this way, he transcends our relation of otherness with death, immortalizing it materially
without the least trace of vanity. Lastly, is Jim Skull not the ultimate and marvelous pirate of
contemporary art, navigating without fear of God nor man the Furious Fifties of his rich and
diverse work?
PierreHenri Heizmann