Most people associate Victorian funerals with the colour black – mourning dresses, hats, gloves etc. It is less widely known that the colour white - white crape looped with white ribbon - was appropriate when a child or young person had passed away.
Black feathers were a typical accessory for a funeral at the time. But mourning symbols in 19th century Victorian America, for instance, included jewellery made of the hair of the deceased. They acted as memorabilia.
For this exhibition Désirée felt compelled to base her work on those Victorian funeral customs that are less commonly known. She chose to use the colour white instead of black and hair instead of feathers.
This artwork represents the mortal remains of a child. It may refer to an actual young person or be symbolic for everyone's own inner child - may it be a wounded, sad, happy or a prodigy child. It is about the purity of the soul shining through at a young age. By mourning such soulfulness, one regains it.
