The Memento Mori Series
© J.P. Bell
The skull is not a symbol of death, it is a confrontation with life.
The Memento Mori Series explores mortality as transformation, where death is not an ending but the condition that gives life urgency and meaning.
At the core of each painting lies Oamaru Stone, a 40-million-year-old fragment of New Zealand’s geological history. Once part of ancient seabeds, it is now embedded directly into the canvas as both material and witness.
Here, human mortality and geological time collide. The skull becomes temporary. The stone becomes memory beyond memory.
This series frames death as passage rather than conclusion, an opening into awareness, presence, and renewal. The embedded stone deepens this perspective, reminding us that while human life is fleeting, we exist within a far older continuity of matter and transformation.
"Walt Whitman"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris
50 x 40 cm
SOLD
In Private Collection, Timaru (New Zealand)
"Eternal Contrast"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas (white)
54.5 x 44 x 4.5 cm
SOLD
1,000 NZD
In Private Collection, Timaru (New Zealand)
"Afterlife"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas
60 x 50 cm
SOLD
In Private Collection, Timaru (New Zealand)
"Strength in Family"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas (white)
60 x 60 cm
SOLD
In Private Collection, Timaru (New Zealand)
"In Search of Meaning"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris
60 x 40 cm
SOLD
In Private Collection, Timaru (New Zealand)
"Cosmic Bones"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas (white)
30 x 30 cm
SOLD
600 NZD
In Private Collection, Timaru (New Zealand)
"Passage"
JP Bell, 2024
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris
50 x 40 cm
SOLD
In Private Collection, St Andrews (New Zealand)
NEW WORK
"Throne of Impermanence"
JP Bell, 2025
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas (black)
103.5 x 78.5 x 4 cm
Sold at the Christchurch Art Show, 2026.
3,000 NZD
"The Breath of Colour"
JP Bell, 2025
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas (white)
95.6 x 65 x 4.5 cm
Sold at the Christchurch Art Show, 2026.
2,500 NZD
"King of Hearts"
JP Bell, 2025
Acrylic, ground Oamaru stone, oil sticks and plaster of Paris on framed canvas (wood)
54.5 x 44 x 5 cm
SOLD
1,250 NZD
In private collection, Timaru (New Zealand)