I wanted to show the contrasts between the two graveyards while giving importance to symbolism and metaphor. I used different methods to create this expanded painting.

All three images from the triptych are riso prints of frottages made in the Brompton Cemetery.

I have previously stated in a post (A Man from Brompton) how a man’s search for purpose is embodied in his costumes or the roles he plays .

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.

The comedy and tragedy mask rubbings are an allegory for Shakespeare’s poem ‘All the world’s a stage’ which continues the theme of theatre in the exploration of death. They are placed in these wooden ‘coffins’, towering the work from Crossbones which has been laid out on the floor. The Crossbone piece is a painted memorial for the women and children who were denied a proper burial by the church because they lived a life of ‘sin’. I wanted to show the contrast between the lives, their graves; and their ultimate end, but I have not managed to achieve that in this work.

Process images

Riso Print experiments with layering