Colourful sugar skulls and the grinning La Calavera Catrina: even if you’ve never celebrated The Day of the Dead, you’re likely familiar with its bony iconography. Today, the departed are honoured with gifts like flowers and sweets. Our offering? Skull art created by Canadians. Some pieces are steeped in tradition, others just find beauty — among other things — in mortal remains. Should it please the dead, a listicle…
Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated on November 1st (All Saints Day), and November 2nd (All Souls’ Day). During the holiday ciudads de Mexico are colorfully decorated by local artisans with paper mache skeletons, papel picados, and sugar skulls. Alters of flowers, candles, and food known as ofrendas, are placed on the graves of the departed to guide their souls back to the world of the living. These spirits are not feared but instead venerated and welcomed to this joyous occasion as the guests of honor.
Born on the Day of the Dead Jacob brings his Mexican heritage to life in his paintings. His personal connection to the holiday gives him a particular view of life, death, and rebirth depicted through his fun, whimsical narratives. He creates characters in settings that are often crossed with a variety of cultural ideas, and imagery, that honor The Day of the Dead in his own unique way.
- Default sorting
- Sort by popularity
- Sort by average rating
- Sort by newness
- Sort by price: low to high
- Sort by price: high to low
Showing all 24 results
Calavera Trooper
Adding to cart
Going Surfing
$ 15.00 – $ 335.00
Adding to cart
Social Sharing
Colourful sugar skulls and the grinning La Calavera Catrina: even if you’ve never celebrated The Day of the Dead, you’re likely familiar with its bony iconography. Today in Mexico and elsewhere, the departed are honoured with gifts like flowers and sweets. Our offering? Skull art created by Canadians. Some pieces are steeped in tradition, others just find beauty — among other things — in mortal remains. Should it please the dead.
Ricky Sosa, Revolucionario Design Co.
These skulls, hand-beaded by Toronto-by-way-of-Mexico (and Vancouver) artist Ricky Sosa, feature psychedelic designs inspired by Wixáritari tradition. They’re meant to be a “symbol of change — good and bad,” he says. As Sosa writes on his website: “I love traditions, it’s basically our heritage of the knowledge from the past. Subconsciously my origins and culture influence me, it’s just difficult to explain how or in what way.
“In Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico, the skull is a reminder of death, but it reminds people that while death is a misfortune, it can also be seen as ‘the ultimate liberation.'”
Jennifer Murphy, Twenty Pearls
“Life and death in full bloom.” That’s one way to describe these images by Toronto artist Jennifer Murphy, cut-and-sewn paper skulls that comprise a lattice-work of gems and animals and flowers — and more skulls — to create delicate webs of the natural world. These pieces were part of Murphy’s 2010 exhibition, Twenty Pearls.
