In certain Christian chapels, collections of skulls were displayed together in “chapels of bones,” and were viewed as representing the essential truth that remains following the disappearance of the more superficial and vain aspects of life. In the Capela dos Ossos in Evora, Portugal, for instance, such a collection is accompanied by an inscription that reads: “We, the bones that lie here, await yours.” In Greek Orthodox monasteries, the skulls of all the monks who lived and died in the monastery were similarly arranged on shelves alongside one another.

Maya Attoun’s installation is composed of skulls made of linoleum that was designed to resemble various shades of wood – infusing the skulls with an artificial, manmade quality. Attoun’s work thus provides a contemporary alternative to the traditional model of the skull as an object characterized by its eternal qualities.

In Attoun’s installation, the contrast between the skull as a symbol of sobriety and humility and the material used to sculpt it in is both startling and disconcerting. The synthetic and artificial quality of the skulls lends them the appearance of items presented in a catalogue, transforming this memento mori into a commercial product.

Abacus, the title of this work, refers to a calculating tool composed of beads that are strung in rows in a specific order according to their color. In this context, the arrangement of the skulls according to their color may be interpreted as a critique of social hierarchies.

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