WORKS

( In Order Shown )

Momento Mori I, Oil on canvas, 46 × 62 cm, 2022. Available

Momento Mori II, Oil on canvas, 46 × 62 cm, 2022. Available

Study for Momento Mori I, Acrylic on canvas, 46 × 62 cm, 2022. Available

‍Momento Mori is a body of work produced during Ainslie’s A-Level studies that investigates mortality, stillness, and the boundaries between life and death.

Drawing from the visual language of morgue photography and postmortem portraiture, the featured paintings depict the human body in a passive, supine state, suspended between presence and absence. In this ambiguous state, the work considers whether moments of complete stillness, often associated with endings, can also possess a quiet and unexpected beauty.

Rather than presenting death through spectacle, the work adopts a restrained contemplative approach, encouraging reflection and prolonged observation. The absence of narrative and overt emotion brings attention to the body itself: its fragility and inevitable impermanence.

Drawing on the tradition of momento mori, the series invites reflection on mortality whilst questioning our relationship with stillness and the quiet dignity of the human form.

Although Momento Mori marks an early stage of Ainslie’s practice, it established a wider conceptual enquiry into stillness and concealment that continues to underpin subsequent bodies of work.