Sirens
The myth of the siren is endlessly fascinating. Her sexuality is so powerful that she cannot be regarded as human. She is in a position of power, able to control men with her beauty and her words. She is evil, giving into her temptation will no doubt lead to death.
Throughout history mythology has built mistrust of 'alluring' women. The blame of temptation has been placed with women, from Eve in the Garden of Eden to the Sirens in the sea and the 'fallen' women locked in asylums.
Here man has conquered the siren, catching her easily in a net. She is vulnerable and powerless. The more she struggles, the tighter the trap becomes.
self portrait as a siren
acrylic on canvas
2020
182 x 100 cm
"Seen as a creature who could control a man's reason, female singers became associated with the mythological figure of the siren, who usually took a half-human, half-animal form somewhere on the cusp between nature and culture."
"Her glance is that of the fabled basilisk, her voice a siren's voice—with her voice she enchants, with her beauty she deprives of reason—voice and sight alike deal destruction and death."
"Their song, though irresistibly sweet, was no less sad than sweet, and lapped both body and soul in a fatal lethargy, the forerunner of death and corruption."
self portrait ink
2020
89 x 60 cm
siren Ioana
acrylic on canvas
2019
93 x 68cm