A Vancouver artist is using a normally grim symbol to remind us to love the life we have.
Ricky Sosa runs Revolucionario Design Co., a Vancouver-based art firm that specializes in eye-catching, hand-beaded skulls.
"For me the skull signifies equality at the end of the day; when everything is said and done, we are all going to be dead and gone," he told The Huffington Post B.C. in an email.
"Either you are rich or you are poor; we all are the same no matter what.... We are all gonna go one day: live life, enjoy it, and make the best out of it."
Sosa was born in Monterrey, Mexico, about two hours from the Texas border, and moved to Vancouver in the early 2000s. The 31-year-old said he has grown to appreciate Mexican culture since moving away, and it's this background that largely influences his art.
A human skull (don't worry, it's made of resin) takes him around 35 to 45 hours to bead. Sosa uses real animal skulls that are mostly found in Mexico; a bull skull, which is his biggest piece, requires around 50 to 70 hours of crafting.
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Vancouver Artist's Hand Beaded Skulls
For his latest show, which took place at Vancouver's Fortune Sound Club in July, Sosa worked with Mexico's Wixáritari indigenous community to handcraft the patterns on the skulls and reflect the group's culture.
"The symbolism comes from the Wixáritari indigenous way of life," he said. "For example Peyote, also known as Hikuri [pattern], is a symbol of life, sustenance, health, success, and good luck. The peyote is an artistic gift from the gods to the people to enlighten their lives and bring them into the mystical realm."
Sosa says that good art makes you feel something, whether it be good or bad.
"I think anything that can be described as mind blowing, stunning, or perfect is something that you don’t see often, and when you see it, you have to really admire and study it," said Sosa.
"I personally think the word 'revolucionario,' which translates to 'revolutionary' in Spanish, is one of the biggest words ever. When someone or something is 'revolucionario,' you’ll expect to see something you have never seen before or something that you can't really believe."
It's a way of thinking that Sosa holds dear: "I want to be remembered as someone who put everything on the line."
