"Mourning II" by Jose Mena

Clay, glaze, acrylics, wood, spray paint

9.5" x 7" x 3"

"Mourning II" is part of "The Unnamed," a series of sculptures confronting the human cost of the Mediterranean migration crisis, the individual lives, the unnamed bodies, the unfinished dreams, and the silence that follows. The work personifies the Mediterranean Sea as a grieving mother, drawing from Moroccan funerary traditions, where white symbolizes peace, spiritual purity, and the return of the soul. Clothed in white, the figure becomes both witness and bearer of countless unfinished journeys, holding within her waters the memory of those who disappeared while seeking safety and a future. Together with "Mourning I," inspired by the black mourning traditions of Andalusia, the sculpture reveals how the same sea is mourned through different cultural lenses. Two shores. Two traditions. One sea carrying the weight of lives the world too often leaves unnamed. Learn more about this piece and this social issue at www.josemena.com.