This post is to feature the three main pieces I produced for the project: Cerberus as Gluttony, Typhon & Echidna Coupling and 21st Century Baphomet. I am also featuring additional artwork produced for the portfolio and the descriptions I provided with them for the exhibition.
Cerberus as Gluttony (2011)
This piece is inspired by Cerberus as described by Dante Alighieri in his poem 'The Divine Comedy I: Inferno'. In the poem, Cerberus has the role in Hell as the punisher of the Gluttunous, forever rending their gorged bodies. Dante employed the monster as the embodiment and perversion of the sinners' own unbridled appetite. My original design was to make it more anatomical and less "like a roast chicken" compared to the actual finished piece but this was developed to the point of serving as an even stronger depiction of Cerberus as the embodiment of gluttony. Although I had intended Cerberus to be genderless, the pastel drawing features a limp phallus. This was not incorporated to suggest Cerberus has definately male but to emphasise the creature's impotence (in almost every sense of the word).
Typhon & Echidna Coupling (2011)
In original ancient Greek descriptions, Typhon and Echidna are both frightful monsters that together conceived many of the now iconic beasts of Greek mythology; the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera and Cerberus to name a few. However, in this piece, the two have been depicted as beings that are otherwordly yet possess great capacity for human compassion (certainly for each other). They embrace one another as if the most intimate of lovers. Constantin Brancussi's 'The Kiss' (1907) was a major influence on the sculpture's form and its construction inspired by the works of Thomas Houseago and Sarah Lucas.
21st Century Baphomet (2011)
The original figure is a mystery on its own, due to the continual misunderstanding of its existence. Although the name had existed centuries before its established image, Baphomet was officially conceived in 1855 by magician Eliphas Levi as a symbol of humanity attaining intellectual divinity through understanding and neutrality. However, with the passing of the 20th century, I feel Levi's romanticised image for humanity will never pass anything beyond a fantasy. So, this curious creature was to be depicted as something wretched and sinister. Its body is now broken and battered due to our preoccupation with conflict, hence much of piece was constructed from military uniform and equipment. Such composition is very much like Michael Sandle's similarly titled 'Twentieth Century Memorial' (1971-1978) and this Baphomet stands with a surprisingly imposing demeanour comparable to Jacob Epstein's original 'Rock Drill' (1913).
Self Portrait as 21st Century Baphomet (2011)
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