Memento Moa is a new series of original art created by Gary Baseman for an exhibition in New Zealand. Exploring themes of migration, memory, and mortality, Baseman creates a mythical land of hybrid creatures. Playing off the phrase “memento mori” which expresses the inevitability of death, Baseman reimagines Aotearoa New Zealand as a land of rebirth and harmony, bringing back the giant moa from extinction to symbolize those loved and now lost. Through iconic characters set in fantastical landscapes, Memento Moa considers family, history, and the idea of home with the artist’s long standing desire to “celebrate the beauty of the bittersweetness of life.”