A BENDIGO exhibition exploring life and death is hoping reopen its doors after the state's snap coronavirus lockdown.
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Artists Lauren Starr and Sarah Wallace-Smith launched their show Memento Mori at Dudley House on May 21.
The exhibition was due to finish on Tuesday, but Ms Starr said the City of Greater Bendigo was trying to find a way for it to be extended to June 8.
Ms Starr said the show had a great reception prior to the COVID-19 lockdown.
"People have been enthusiastic, warm, and interested to talk about life and death and embrace the art," she said. "I've been really pleased with the reception."
Ms Starr said the exhibition - which featured paintings and objects like skulls and taxidermy animals - was a call to action to prioritise life.
"We're exploring the Dutch still masters of the 17th and 18th centuries," she said. "Still life paintings were code for different things in life and we can analyse this.
"So different fruits and flowers had different meanings. It was all to remind the viewer that life is beautiful and rich, but also temporary so live it well.
"Sarah and I did a contemporary interpretation of work that is centuries old. We also did a call-out to our Instagram community for anyone who was cool and interested.
"We received a lot of skulls and taxidermy that we could use in our exhibition to make it fun and interactive."
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Ms Starr said the artists had been overwhelmed by the community's engagement in their exhibition.
She encouraged Greater Bendigo residents to continue to support the region's artists.
"The art scene is really at a ground-breaking time in Bendigo," Ms Starr said. "It's amazing to see so much of the community support it and put it on the map. It's going to be huge.
"Thank you to everyone for coming and supporting us. There's still time to support us if we hopefully reopen."
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