These body of works examine the threats and vulnerability associated with shapeshifting. They all relate to the following folktales and myths from around the world that focus on woman who had a challenging or tragic existance, yet also possesed grand powers.
INSIDE OUT and DI-PROSOPON are made of found articles of clothing that cover and alter appearance or expose parts that usually are hidden, awarding them a scary, prickly nature.
DI-PROSOPON - Early Babylonian myths and Plato’s Symposium hold that humans were created as androgynous two-faced creatures who were then split into male and female beings who were doomed to roame the world searching to reunite with their "other half." This story has found its way into many cultures since antiquity - from Greek mythology (Janus) to Rabbinic interpretations (Genesis Rabah 8:1,) referencing a range of topics including gender and sexuality, past and future, dualism and contradiction, and sincerity and collaboration.
DEER WOMAN - Deer appear in mythology around the world in connection with supernatural forces or incarnation of deities such as Artemis, the Greek goddess of the wilderness. In Native American mythology, a Deer Woman is a dance-loving hooved creature who is a fierce protector of women and children. Encountering this spirit is considered a sign of warning or of personal transformation.
MEDUSA - Medusa was the mortal of the three Gorgon sisters in Greek mythology. They had scaly golden bodies, beautiful human faces, hair of live venomous serpents, metal boar tusks, and gold wings, and could turn anyone who gazed at their piercing eyes into stone. Aided by gods, the hero Perseus slayed Medusa.
SIREN - Sirens appear in Homer’s Odyssey around the 8th century BCE. These half-woman half-bird monstrous sea nymphs used enchanting music and their beautiful voices to distract sailors and lead them to crash their ships on the rocky coast of their island.
WILD SWANS - In 1838, Hans Christian Andersen told a fairytale about a princess who rescues her 11 brothers from a spell that turned them into swans, by knitting each of them a garment from stinging nettles while bound to a vow of silence. Her mysterious behavior causes people to accuse her of witchcraft and sentence her to death. On her way to the stake, she continues her silent knitting as the swans descend from the sky. She quickly throws the garments over them, and the brothers regain their human form - except for the youngest brother who is left with a swan's wing for an arm, as his garment is not completed on time.
EVE– In the Bible, Eve is the embodiment of femininity and life, highlighting themes of creation and human free will. Alternatively, she is also perceived as man’s urge to do evil and sin; her suggestion to eat from the Biblical Tree of Knowledge resulted in expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the loss of eternal life.
Lilith - Beautiful, long-haired Lilith appears in the folklore of many cultures, from ancient Babylonian mythology to Jewish Middle Ages’ folktales that present her as Adam’s rebellious first partner who turned into a cursed winged serpent demon. Widely portrayed by artists from Michelangelo to Kiki Smith, Lilith often represents feminine independence that was achieved at a high personal cost.
