Jocasta Two

This is the second painting created in response to thoughts about Jocasta, a tragic female character in Greek drama.

She is an enigma, an essential but overlooked figure in the Greek tragedies that surround the Oedipus myths. 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. 

The colours were developed from a poor photo of the remains of a krater known as “The Siracusa Tragedy Vase” which depicts Oedipus, and they work in an interchange between variations of Naples Yellow and Lavender.

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