Upon walking into the Fresno City College Art Space Gallery, one is confronted with one central theme — death. Presented through 200 unique paintings by Jill Littlewood, “Death and Other Lives” captures the essence of death by portraying ideas from all corners of the world having to do with the end of life.

“I chose death as a topic because I wanted something big enough to be both mythic and encyclopedic. It was a good choice – death takes you everywhere,” wrote Littlewood in her bio.

With paintings hung one on top of the other from floor to ceiling, the gallery has been transformed into a maze of art. Winding through the isles, one is engulfed in paintings that inspire ideas of cultures, religions, rituals, politics, philosophy, technology, etc., all with the central theme of death.

The sheer number of pieces is truly amazing. Each one small, yet part of a whole that fills the entire gallery; each one unique, yet connected.

The making of the exhibit was no spontaneous revelation “caught on tape,” but rather a slow and steady process of trying to capture as many different ideas of the subject as possible.

Over a four-month period, Littlewood studied images of death, researched cultural histories, studied funerals, and generally immersed herself with ideas of death by day. Starting at 9 p.m. she would begin the painting process, resulting in two panels front and back by night.

The exhibit is literally made from scratch. Littlewood made the canvass and used the ‘paint’ by means of pulp painting, using a mixture of half hemp and half abaca. Pulp painting involves taking a wet dyed pulp and applying it to a canvass in place of paint. The application can be done via squirt bottles, spooning, or tossing it onto the canvass (www.trytel.com).

Littlewood went the extra mile and used her pulp mixture to make the actual canvass as well. Each panel was made by pressing and drying the pulp into the 18″ X 24″ panel that gives the exhibit its unique look without ever seeing any of the actual paintings. This also gave each painting a background that seemed ancient, earthy. It’s as if these paintings were found among the same ancient literature that inspired them.

The exhibit will be on display in the F.C.C. Art Space Gallery until September 21. Don’t miss it, it’s to die for.