Gloria Tang
Issue 1: RISE, July 2023
“Memento Vivere”, which translates to “Remember you must die, so remember to live”, is a phrase that I started trying to live by in my last year of junior college, which this painting aims to depict the essence of. The wreath in the painting represents the unstoppable passage of time, visualized by the metamorphosis of a butterfly, and the growth and death of a plant. The snake skeleton references the ouroboros— famously representative of the cycle of life and death, and the concept of infinity. Yet, despite our impermanence— our inability to slow down time, or immortalise ourselves in this grand universe— it is still in our nature to dream, aspire, and connect in the most human way possible. In the spirit of “rise”, the two reaching hands therefore represent this innate desire to live beyond surviving, and to be remembered even in our smallness. La Cueva de las Manos is evidence of this— a cave of colorful, stenciled handprints dating back to 5000 BC, seemingly created for no other purpose than to proclaim, “I was here. And I lived”. To be remembered is to live. Remember you must die, so remember to live. Expressing something that resonated so incredibly deeply on canvas, while being at an age where I’m in desperate search of life’s guiding principles, was so incredibly cathartic. And in a romantic way, it is also my attempt to etch my handprint on the walls of a metaphorical cave, to make a piece of art that proclaims, “remember me, for I was here.”
Gloria Tang, 2023
I am Gloria, a self-taught artist who picked up painting as a hobby during circuit breaker. I post my work on Instagram @gouachedaway. Art is an avenue of catharsis, and a love language to express my gratitude towards the life I’ve come to love in a tangible way.