Jocasta Six

This work plays with a number of painting processes and also references the theme of Oedipus and the Sphinx, a recurrent subject on ancient Greek vase decoration and which has been described as a “Threshold Myth” where boundaries dissolve.

Usually Oedipus ponders the riddle of the Sphinx,a monster that has the head of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle, and is seated on a plinth. However, here, the central motif represents Jocasta, an essential figure in the tragedy and is painted in acrylic, reflecting light differently from the rest of the oil painting. 

When there is neither history nor a definitive version of a story then the imagination can spin imprecise impressions, evoking happenings in a bronze age palace and suggestions of mysterious beliefs and rituals.