List of Works
Front:
Self Portrait as Aphrodite, 2022, mixed media, 50 x 29 x 22 cm
Self Portrait as Artemis, 2023, mixed media, 33 x 21 x 20 cm
Self Portrait as Hestia, 2022, mixed media, 31 x 15 x 19 cm
Small Goddess Votives, 2022, mixed media, smallest 7.5 x 6.5 x 2 cm, largest 22 x 15 x 6.5 cm
Back:
Goddess Complex 2, 2022, mixed media, sizes smallest 16 x 4 x 4 cm, largest 45 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm
Self Portrait as Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Themis, Maia, 2023, mixed media, sizes smallest 67.5 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm, largest 82 x 22 x 17 cm
Self Portrait as Hera, 2023, mixed media, 70 x 16.5 x 17 cm
Self Portrait as Artemis (detail), 2023, mixed media, 68.5 x 16.5 x 16 cm
Walking into the Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum in Siracusa, Sicily in 2019 I was overwhelmed by the cabinets containing ancient terracotta goddess votives en masse. OMGess!
Each one was simply made as an act of personal worship. These humble objects were the genesis of my Self-portrait as Goddess series. There was a tactile immediacy to these works that was for me a charming contrast to the hard, unyielding nature of marble and the heroism of much classical sculpture. Grouped together, the strength of these simple figures was multiplied. They radiated power.
Capturing a sense of that omnipotence in my self-depictions became my gleeful vanity project! My goddess figures subvert the typical artist/muse relationship–it’s amusing…get it!
Imaging myself as a goddess, could I make something that was both full of life and iconic? As a goddess I am protagonist, champion, and protector, drawing a connection between myself and the natural world. In this way the politics of a feminine ideal, beauty myths and archetypes can be playfully explored.
Working simply, capturing the sensibilities of folk art and the homemade, I have used every last scrap of fabric to create something new and precious. The work has been fashioned from what came to hand: fabric offcuts; packaging materials; bits of old wood; coat hangers; and knitting needles have all been used. Many thanks to my family and friends who have scrounged stuff for me, passing on bits and pieces that have been transformed into divinities!
Making something out of nothing is a powerful act.
Adrienne Doig