The incoroptation of skulls into architectural elements in my works was inspired by the works of Mabuse.

Left, Mabuse, Jan Gossaert (1478-1532, Flemish), Neptune and Amphitrite, 1516.
Illus. 261, Edward Lucie–Smith, Eroticism in Western Art, ISBN 0500201218.

I later incorporated skulls, as well as other skeletal elements, with mechanical devices.