JAW DROP SKULLS | Pop Art Memento Mori Skull Series | HYPNOTIQ

An original contemporary artwork by Arian Lori-Amini, known professionally as HYPNOTIQ.
JAW DROP SKULLS is the signature memento mori series from the HYPNOTIQ studio: skulls caught mid expression, jaws dropped open in the moment of the reveal.
The work. Created in 2022 as a tabletop series, the pieces do something skulls almost never do in art, which is react. A skull is normally the most impassive object available, and giving one an expression turns a symbol into a character. The joke lands first and the thought lands second, which is exactly the order the artist intended.
The form. Each jaw drop skull is modelled with the mouth wide open, so the silhouette breaks the expected oval and reads instantly even in profile. Metallic paint detailing picks out the structure of the bone, and the high gloss surface keeps the whole form reflective and continuous rather than chalky.
Materials and craft. Resin cast jaw drop skulls with acrylics, metallic paint details and an epoxy seal under a high gloss finish, each on an individual display base. In the gallery images the group is shown on a hand painted drum, a recurring display form across the HYPNOTIQ body of work.
For the collector. A tabletop or shelf series that works singly or grouped, and grouping is where it is strongest, since the repeated expression becomes a chorus. Suited to a study, library, bar, media room or gallery corner, and to collectors of skull imagery, memento mori and pop art with a sense of humour.
Specifications
Dimensions: each approximately 10 H x 8 W x 7 D inches, approximately 4 lbs each
Materials: resin cast skulls, acrylics, metallic paint detailing, epoxy seal
Finish: high gloss
Display: tabletop, individual display bases
Year: 2022
Studio: HYPNOTIQ, Seattle, Washington. Designed, fabricated and hand finished in the artist studio.