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Hanging in the altar as a climactic moment of the exhibition is Mitch Griffiths’ painting Shrine. This stunning portrait captures the ethos of the exhibition, conflating tradition with the contemporary for harrowing effect. The serene figure, bathed in light, appears like Saint Mary Magdalene, a hermit saint, regularly captured in the wilderness with long auburn hair wearing an animal skin. In place of the animal skin, Mitch’s figure wears a onesie. A drone rests upon her head in place of the halo that she is typically captured with.

Tangled around its propellers are thorns alluding to Christ’s crown, a symbol of human sacrifice. In depicting the drone in this manner, Griffiths alludes to the way so much surveillance and warfare is conducted by unmanned machines. Its place on the head of this modern saint highlights its power in the 21st century and the burning landscape demonstrates its capacity to inflict destruction.

A core theme of the exhibition is the art historical trope of Memento Mori (‘remember you must die’). One of the oldest and most frequently represented art historical themes in the Western world were images that reminded the audience of the inevitability of death, encouraging them to make the most of their time and seek salvation before too late. Skulls were the most repeatedly represented motifs in paintings that addressed this theme, and Andy Warhol captured the morbid subject under the guise of the vibrancy and energy of Pop art across four silkscreen prints that hang in the exhibition.

Hanging opposite Warhol are two canvases by emerging artist Graceland London which capture skulls under acrylic paint and a playful approach to representation and iconography. Both artists have reimagined the subject with an irreverence that is indicative of the contemporary society that we live in.

However, perhaps the most potent example of a Memento Mori hanging in the show is David LaChapelle’s portrait Andy Warhol: Last Sitting. This haunting photograph was taken just three months before the artist’s death. Warhol is captured under a pale light with a piercing stare, looking out to the viewer like an orthodox icon. His gesture, the hand that holds his chin, loosely resembles depictions of Christ blessing the worshipper in the distinctive frontal pose.