Memento Murmur is the debut showcase of Rory Strudwick’s Breathing Series paintings and sound works. These pieces delve into the meditative visuals behind closed eyelids, where thought, emotion, and sensation intermingle—a threshold between the conscious and subconscious, where images of past and future, refuge and dread, life and death unfold.

Closing one’s eyes often evokes death, particularly in Western atheist perspectives which envision a vast abyss. Drawing on Buddhist teachings, Strudwick’s research and meditation shaped the series’ core belief: preparing for death enables us to live more fully. As Buddhist monk Sogyal Rinpoche observes, modern society’s denial of death fosters fear and disconnection.

The exhibition’s title encapsulates this exploration. Memento—Latin for “remember”—echoes memento mori, a reminder of mortality that deepens our understanding of life. Murmur evokes fluctuating but constant rhythms—like the ebb and flow of a gentle wave or wind through the trees —that mirror nature’s cycles of breath, energy, seasons, growth and decay; and ultimately death and renewal.

The works reflect Strudwick’s withdrawal from the overstimulation of digital life, a symptom of late-stage capitalism that fragments our connection to nature, community, and mortality. His paintings juxtapose natural rhythms with digital noise, offering sanctuary from modern distractions. Transient light filtered through closed eyelids evokes a space where we experience memory, imagination, and presence, reconnecting viewers with the sensory awareness that grounds these ephemeral moments.

The accompanying sound piece amplifies this immersion, using field recordings, humming, and low frequencies to mirror the cyclical rhythms of his painting process. Together, these murmurs of rising, falling, inhaling, and exhaling culminate in works such as You and I Are Earth, where textured oil bars evoke neural activity, bridging organic breath and digital pixels.

Memento Murmur offers a contemplative calming space that connects the personal with the collective, inviting viewers to rediscover the cyclical rhythms of nature, memory, and mortality, whilst reminding them of their own inner sanctuary behind the eyes.