Athena's moth, cow skull and dead bird
Kristen Flynn
410mm x 540mm /
Oil on Fabriano paper
This artwork is available for purchase. Please contact the exhibiting gallery for details
1st Place: Works on paper
Kristen Flynn
Athena’s moth, cow skull, and dead bird is a three-plate solar-etching printed with Prussian blue oil. I have created this artwork to investigate the ambiguity and beauty of mortality. Each living creature in my work is at the end of its life cycle, encouraging the audience to contemplate their own transient self. I have included an appropriation of a Botticelli artwork, as his work is iconic for beauty. His depiction of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, reminds us of the human constructs we put in place to understand our own kaleidoscopic world and its life cycles.
Curator's Comment
This work is both visually and conceptually rich. Botticelli’s Athena and the moths are used metaphorically as a juxtaposition for beauty, wisdom and resurrection. The artist is asking us to explore these types of ‘human constructs’ through our own kaleidoscope of perspectives. The strong use of light and dark and the use of the skull and dead bird are reminiscent of Dutch still life paintings of the 17th Century, stylistically tying the three-part print together.
About the artist
Flynn creates self-portraits that evoke thoughts and feelings of transcendence and the sublime. She utilises juxtaposition and layering of imagery to produce meaning. Flynn’s printmaking process includes both new and traditional methods.