'Women' (2024)

 

Women (2024)

Medium: gel pens, watercolor, digital revision

The modern-day depictions of women in Greek mythology, and more specifically, Medusa, are all blatantly sexualized and white-washed. I searched for depictions of Medusa on Pinterest and other social media apps out of curiosity one day, and I was genuinely upset and uncomfortable.

I cannot stand seeing Medusa, a symbol of the suffering of women at the hands of men and thus of feminine strength and triumph, treated in such a patriarchal and inhuman manner. It is so ironic that the thought of it is like swallowing a stone.

I wanted more than anything, out of respect and obligation more than only self-expression and personal interpretation, to create a portrait of Medusa in which she displays a comfortable, natural beauty. One that is not completely forced, Eurocentric, and animalistic. Regardless of which version of her myth is the “truth,” or what deeds each feminine Greek entity is said to have committed, they are, after all, reflections of how humanity views women. And thus, she deserves as much dignity as you or I.