Jocasta One

Jocasta is an enigma, an essential but overlooked figure in the Greek tragedies that surround the Oedipus myths. When there is no history and no definitive version of a story then the imagination can spin imprecise impressions, evoking, perhaps, happenings in a bronze age palace and suggestions of mysterious beliefs and rituals. The starting point for colours in this painting was taken from terracotta ceramics with a gradual development through very dark tones, this is a painting about paint manipulation and process as well as an abstract response to a story. Asymmetry and inconsistencies are intentional.

Bib. Three Theban Plays by Sophocles, circa 450 BCE, and Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes, 2017.

Oil and acrylic on deep canvas