The Waisenpsalmen series stems from my view of the funeral ritual as a sacred space of veneration, where my work becomes a profound search for the traces of existential experience.

These pieces are rooted in the lasting impression of my adolescent visit to Emperor Pakal’s tomb in Palenque. The series began in 2023 after my father’s death, as I reinterpreted images from anthropology, ancestral traditions, and funerary rites.

I build each composition around a symbolic horizon, intervening an ancient sculptural figure with layers of color and material remnants—seashells, synthetic hair, and broken wood—that evoke burial, erosion, and decomposition. A strong white light crosses the image, suggesting the passage into the afterlife and a subtle sense of spiritual transcendence.

The title Waisenpsalmen (“Orphan Psalms”) reflects my personal grief: sacred songs orphaned from their father, resonating with loss while reaching toward the universal.

WAISENPSALMEN VII, 2026
Collage, digital print on paper, wood fragments, lacquer, color pencil, synthetic hair, seashell, oyster, nails, pins, and peacock feather on book covers mounted on a painted wood board with a custom artist’s frame.
14.2 x 16.9 x 2.0 in 
Unique piece