As a classically trained composer she fuses traditional instruments and orchestration with applications of digital technology. The work is an ongoing exploration of human identity, particularly our hidden lives and emotional landscapes and is often melancholic and epic in scale.
She completed her training at the National Film and Television School where she developed a passion for the merging of image, movement and music. She uses film and video in her work, often digitally manipulated and re-coloured, to inject a sense of hyper-realism, nostalgia, loss and hope into the pieces.
She has collaborated on a variety of projects with games developer and researcher Dan Pinchbeck since 2003, including a series of experimental game mods. The latest of these, Dear Esther, was selected for Prix Ars Electronica 2008 and has already been downloaded over 10,000 times. They have recently been commissioned to create a new experimental game mod: Korsakovia, designed to investigate how players cope when normal anthropomorphic cues attached to agents are removed.
She has exhibited internationally and has received commissions, residencies, grants and awards from organisations such as the The Wellcome Trust, The Royal Society of Arts, PVA, Werkleitz Gesellschaft, Labculture, Arts Council England, Hull Time Based Arts, Exeter Phoenix, CIBAS and Arts and Technology Partnerships. She was the first ever Artist in Residence at the New Media Centre at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London and was also selected for the European Media Artist Residency Exchange programme in Germany.
Her latest film, i carry your heart, was shown around the world in 2008, including the prestigious Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Venezuela; several festivals in Germany; Poland; India and in the UK. She has recently been selected for the Berlinale Talent Campus 2009, a six day international creative summit in conjunction with the Berlinale Film Festival. She also sits on the Board of Directors for PVA Media Lab, Dorset.
Mors Praematura
Jessica Curry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Plagam mortiferam infligere
Abiit ad patres
Mens rea
Mundus vult decipi
Memento mori Memento mori
Abiit ad Patres
Mors Praematura Mors Praematura
The song "Mors Praematura" by Jessica Curry is a haunting and poignant piece that delves into the theme of the inevitability of death. The Latin title translates to "premature death," which sets the tone for the ominous feeling that permeates throughout the song. The first verse "Plagam mortiferam infligere" can be interpreted as the infliction of a fatal wound, while "Abiit ad patres" means "gone to the fathers," implying that the subject has passed on.
The second verse "Mens rea/Mundus vult decipi" suggests that the world wants to be deceived, and that there is some culpability in the subject's death. The phrase "Mens rea" is a legal term that means "guilty mind," which implies that there was a level of intention or responsibility for the death. The repeated phrase "Memento mori" reminds the listener of their own mortality, and calls to the idea that all life must end.
Overall, the lyrics of "Mors Praematura" reflect on the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. The language used evokes a sense of foreboding and sadness, as if the subject's death was untimely and unjust.
Line by Line Meaning
Mors praematura
An untimely death that cuts life short before its natural end.
Plagam mortiferam infligere
Inflicting a deadly wound that brings about death.
Abiit ad patres
He/She has gone to the ancestors or the afterlife.
Mens rea
A guilty mind, knowing that one's actions will lead to negative consequences.
Mundus vult decipi
The world wants to be deceived; the reality of things is often hidden or disguised.
Memento mori Memento mori
Remember that you will die; a reminder to live life to the fullest, as our time is limited.
Contributed by Kennedy V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.