Janine Antoni

I lay myself down, 2019

Mixed media gilded with 24 karat gold leaf

16 3/8 x 23 1/2 x 3 inches (41.6 x 59.69 x 7.62 cm)

Commissioned by The Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY.

© Janine Antoni; Courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, and Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco
Photo: Christopher Burke

In the work “I lay myself down,” the artist captures the sole of her mother’s foot while she is sleeping in bed. The wrinkled patterns of age, accentuated by gold paint, remind the artist of the mandalas depicted on the Reclining Buddha’s feet. He is in repose during his last illness, right before he enters parinirvana. To lay oneself down is to surrender to gravity. It is to choose to come closer to the earth. It is the position we usually take right before death. 

The wrinkles of the foot record the movement of a body that has traversed the earth. The mandala is a symbol of never-ending life. The artist equates it with the unconscious, which for her encompasses the spirit world. To contemplate these patterns together is to acknowledge the way the earthly and spiritual planes coexist and interact. 

The gold ground isolates the sole of the foot from its body, much like an imprint. The impressed decorative patterns in the gilded surface follow the meandering contour of the foot. They radiate out to enhance the geometric shape of the frame. Likewise, the bones of the foot, released from the flesh, form the frame itself. Here, the body turns inside out and reconfigures to reveal a map that brings spirit and matter together.

“I leave my imprint. I am imprinted. I nestle into the earth. I rest in peace.”

“I lay myself down” was a part of “I am fertile ground” at Green-Wood Cemetery.