Martyrs—“Vespers” and Prometheus
In the Neri Oxman: Material Ecology exhibition at MoMA, which explored the nature inspired by design, the third and final collection of “Vespers” was shown. Among all of the artwork in this exhibition, the “Vespers” is especially noticeable to me. “Vespers” is a collection of death masks that is different from any death mask you have ever seen. Their unique design is just like the exoskeleton on an Alien's head or the helmet used by a Space Jockey from the movie Prometheus. Divided into three series, which separately represent the concepts of past, present, and future, the Vespers masks collection depicts the transformation from death to life or from life to death, depending on different interpretations. The first series delves into life through the lens of death. Using different material combinations, it imitates colors commonly found in cultural relics. The third series embodies the concept of "rebirth through death." Repositioning the mask from series one as a Petri dish and life vessel, it marks the formation of new life driven by death masks. The second series mediates between them, signaling the evolution of death masks form a symbolic cultural relic to the futuristic design.
The transition from death to life is also the theme explored by the movie Prometheus. At the beginning of the film, one space jockey drinks a cup of black liquid and begins to decompose. The disintegrated DNA from his dead body fuses with elements on earth and reassembles itself into new gene chains. The original white gene chain turns to blood red, representing the creation of new life on earth. This is the Genesis in the movie. It can be seen that despite the design of the Vespers, which is connected to the film, the spiritual core of the masks is similar to that movie. Point out that the theme is the same.
It is hard to ignore their name—Vespers and Prometheus, in which the discussion of life and death takes shape. Vespers means the planet (usually Venus ) seen at sunset in the western sky. Another meaning is the late afternoon or evening worship service in some Christian Churches. Commonly, it is thought that the moon at night is related to death, and the sun in the day is linked to life. Moreover, since the moonlight is the reflection of sunlight, it can also be considered as the rebirth of sunlight. The twilight is the mediation of day and night, which makes the Vesper a perfect symbol of the transition from life to death and death to life.
It is obvious that Prometheus is a metaphor. Not only is the research project in the film called Prometheus, but the space jockey that appeared at the beginning of the film is also considered as Prometheus, who not only created humans but also sacrificed himself to steal fire for humans. The space jockey uses his own body to create the human on earth. Conversely, humans are the rebirth from Space Jockey's death. The other meaning of Vespers is related to the Christian religion. Coincidentally, the leading character—Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, in the movie, is a reverent Christian. At the end of the film, she puts her cross back, representing the recovery of her strong faith.
Like all death masks, Vespers isn't actually about death—it's about commemorating life. Displayed separately, those three categories of Vespers depict and memorialize five fictional martyrs by interpreting different moments in their past, present and future. They lived in the past, die in the present, and will give birth to new lives in the future. They are going through a metamorphosis from life to death or death to life. They will be remembered as the pioneers exploring the transition from death to life in modern society. Also considered as martyrs, the Space Jockey is memorialized by humans, and its existence eventually leads to the emergence of a new group of martyrs—the research team trying to figure out the origin of life. Using a horrific way, though, the new life born from a dead Space Jockey was clearly shown in the movie. This process is divine to humans in the film. They believe the creation of humans is the accomplishment of life by the "god," which is just their wishful thinking. Therefore, they feel lost for being abandoned by their creator and embark on the journey to find the "god" and request an answer even if they may die from it. Filled with death threats, though, the film Prometheus talks about our persistent pursuit of life.
As mentioned before, the concept of rebirth is inherent in the sub-series called "Future." It poses a question: what remains once life has been lived? The film also shares the same theme. From the death of the Space Jockey at the very beginning to the creation of the first Alien from the dead body of another Space Jockey, the movie explores the possible outcome of recreation of life through death. The death and recreation of life are the ultimate thought of both the Vespers and Prometheus. Those death masks in series one now become the breeding ground for new lives. Death and rebirth are revolved in this series. They are denotations of both spiritual incarnation and biological representation. The masks become habitats for microorganisms and the site of the creation of new life. With the life created inside themselves, those masks are transformed into living objects which represent the transition from death to life. Here, the reform of life is positive. According to the research team, these masks indicate a possible future where wearable interfaces and building skins are customized to fit for particular shapes and also specific materials. For example, there could be a smart wearable interface that aims to guide the formation of customized antibiotics to match the genetic makeup of its user.
In contrast, all of the rebirth in Prometheus seems to be negative and hideous. To the Space Jockey, the human born from a dead Space Jockey is just a mistake, and that's why they had decided to destroy all humans. For the human, both the robot born for the continuation of life and the unexpectedly generated dreadful creature called Alien are lethal threats. In opposite ways, though, both of them deliver their thinking of the eternal philosophical topic for the human race to investigate--life and death.
In the world of the living, we are fascinated by death. This zest may not only come from the fear of our lives transforming into the past tense but also the perpetual pursuit of life. Life and death together is still the greatest mystery waiting to be unraveled. Therefore, we use technology to explore that enigma, and we use art to express and compliment it. The Vespers and Prometheus are also connected by it, and it is the main reason that they are beautiful and poetic. What remains after the death? Can life be generated through death? The artistic exploration of these questions will never end.