BOTANICA
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Artwork 'Persephone' for the 'Botanica' exhibition 2016 at Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, USA.
Prints are available here: shop.lightgreyartlab.com
graphite on paper, digitally coloured
______________________________
Artwork 'Persephone' for the 'Botanica' exhibition 2016 at Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, USA.
Prints are available here: shop.lightgreyartlab.com
graphite on paper, digitally coloured
Botanica celebrates the origin of our Earth. The old world and the new, the creation mythology of various cultures, the fractal nature of flora, specific specimens and the healing properties of the plants that make our Earth unique. Under our feet, life is sprawling and forever blossoming at a pace and scale we may not notice at first glance. Flora is responsible for holding our land together, nourishing cultures, sustaining beauty, and each plant has a role in a very distinct ecosystem. In this exhibition, we embrace the origins, history, science, and culture of the Earth and it's ability to foster life, death, and everything in between. Botanica features new artwork by 125 artists, illustrators, designers, and photographers from around the world. This nature-inspired exhibition takes viewers on a journey through some of the most fragile ecosystems, mysterious organisms, and the beautiful growths that define our regions and cultural experiences. (text: Light Grey Art Lab)
When I was a little girl I saw Disney’s Silly Symphony ‘The Goddess of Spring’ (nowadays you can find it on Youtube!) and I’ve been attracted to this myth ever since. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter, and is the queen of the underworld. She was abducted by Hades, the god-king of the underworld. Zeus intervened and tried to bring Persephone back to the world of the living; however, Persephone ate the seeds of a pomegranate that Hades had given to her, binding her to him for one third of the year. Thus Persephone would spend four months in the underworld (Winter) and would return to earth in Spring, creating the seasons.
I created this figurative illustration, a potrait of how I see this mystical woman, beautiful and bright but also with a darker side.
fig. 1.Portrait of Persephone, goddess of spring
fig. 2. Process
fig. 3. Process: from sketch to pencil drawing to finished illustration
fig. 4. The Botanica Exhibition (photo: Light Grey Art Lab)
fig. 5. The Botanica Exhibition (photo: Light Grey Art Lab)
