Palo Alto artist contemplates mortality

Local sculptor Ken Joye will be holding a pop-up exhibition over the weekends of Jan. 12-13 and 19-20 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 904 High St. in Palo Alto.

The series, “Homage,” a collection of around 30 human skulls carved out of wood, was inspired by a 2012 exhibition at the California Academy of Sciences of 800 sea lion skulls and is a tribute to Ray Bandar, a high school science teacher and field associate with the Academy.

“The wood I use for my sculpture is mostly from tree crews that I have encountered while riding my bicycle around town,” Joye said. “Many of the trees they were cutting down were diseased, dying or dead, which I have found fits very much with the theme of mortality. My series can be seen as a memento mori, a contemplation upon our existence.”