#tinamenzel

[art-in-you]

By Tina Menzel

[primitiveprimelab]

TIINA MENZEL

For all their symbolism of death and poison or danger, skeletons always seem to me, wrongly branded—The victims of bad, or unjustifiably outdated PR. We seldom celebrate the human skeleton outside gothic romanticism, or badass counter-culture rebel. To simply look at the bones we are underneath and accept it as a joyous fact, almost seems counter-intuitive because of their innate association with death and the anxiety death itself produces. Artist Tiina Menzel seems to treat them a bit kinder. 

Among her work, are countless re-depictions of skeletons holding, petting, or fondly interacting with cats. According to an interview with Fandom Wire, Menzel explains her skeletons are a metaphor for depression, more specifically, feeling dead inside. In this vulnerable skeletal state, we’re exposed to our mortality, our deepest anxieties from which there is no flesh, no muscle to shield us. The pairing of these skeletons with feline friends was inspired by her own depression and eventual pet cat, who helped ease her anxieties. 

In illustrating this bond between cat and bone, Menzel places these skeletons on a path of self-healing. What’s lovely to watch, for me, is this literal x-ray of a human, undefined by sex, race, color, country, or god; simply enjoying a warm beverage (I’m imagining and smelling coffee) and spending time with a furry buddy. Whatever worries this person might have, they’ve been momentarily exempt. Menzel’s work is also a reminder that during our moments of peace, of comfort, or happiness, we have a skeleton within, sharing the moment with us.

Menzel’s Instagram