Untitled (Skull) 1981

Miguel Cervantes made this etching on paper, it's a skull rendered in shades of black and white. Imagine the artist, bent over the plate, a whole world emerging from tiny marks. It’s a slow build; a conversation with the material, one line at a time. I like the way Cervantes hasn't tried to smooth anything out. You can feel the scratch of the etching needle, the bite of the acid. There’s something brave about letting the process show, like leaving the brushstrokes visible in a painting. The skull, of course, is a classic memento mori, a reminder of death. But here, it feels less like a morbid statement and more like an acceptance. Acknowledging the impermanence of everything can be a way of making peace with life, of seeing beauty in the transient.