Craig Banks creates art using the cremated remains of humans and beloved pets. (PHOTOS: Supplied)
It’s hard deciding what to do with a loved one’s ashes: you can scatter them, keep them in an urn on the mantlepiece or stow them away in a memorial wall.
But what if you could do something that lifts your spirits every time you see it?
Artist Craig Banks from Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape has come up with a creative way to immortalise the deceased. He creates artwork from their cremated remains.
“Many people keep the ashes in an urn or container – it can be depressing,” says Craig. “But when the ashes are used to create an artwork of the person, it can be hung on the wall and passed from family member to family member. I think it’s a beautiful idea and a nice gesture.”
Craig mixes a portion of the ashes with charcoal powder and sprays the completed artwork with artist varnish before framing it.
Clients send him a small container with their loved one’s ashes, about a teaspoonful, and he uses a mortar and pestle to grind it finer.
“Usually, the ashes come to me in the form of very small bone fragments, and I grind it until it has the same density as charcoal powder. I then mix it together and use the mixture on a type of paper with many grooves to create the artwork,” Craig explains.
Craig worked as a clerk at a hardware store but began focusing on his art full-time in 2020 when the company laid off a bunch of workers due to the Covid pandemic.
“I had Covid-19 and was seriously ill and in the hospital for a few days. When I was discharged, I found out I had lost my job. It wasn’t nice being laid off, but it was nice to try something new and to see if I could make a success of my art,” he says.
He initially worked only with charcoal to create his portraits, but his wife, Lorin, suggested that he should also try using people’s ashes.
“I knew it was different and special, but I also knew many people would not agree with the idea. I did my first artwork with the ashes and then another one or two to master the technique. Luckily, I figured it out quickly.”
Craig has also made portraits containing the ashes of people’s pets. He hopes to help people process grief and loss through his art.
“My artworks won’t take away the pain of loss, but they can help heal hearts – even if it’s just to get you through the loss.”
The most difficult artworks to do are those of children because he is a father himself.
“It’s much more emotionally draining to do children who have passed away,” he says. “I haven’t experienced that loss, but I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for people. So I feel it’s my duty to help the parents if I can – even if they just feel a bit better for a moment.”
