The Forgotten Love
For the exhibition on 1stDib, curated by Basileus, I have created a piece on the theme of Mythic Love celebrating the women left in the Shadow of History, for the sake of love. Exhibition and Curation held on 1st Dib from 7th December 2022.
Link on 1stDib for offer: https://www.1stdibs.com/nft/art/forgotten-love/id-n_LERaKGgYHo/
“The Forgotten Love” is the 2nd in the collection of The Forgotten Collection — The First One being “The Forgotten Mother” I have created in honour of Olena Kulchytska and a Ukrainian Exhibition in the Metaverse for the Sheptysky Museum, in Lviv, and V-ART, curated by Eleonora Brizi.
The Forgotten collection is about what gives us the strength from within, this invisible force that drives one to its best. it has this religious inspiration without being a piece about inspiration. It all comes from a small wooden sculpture I inherited from my mum’s brother who I never had the chance to know — This is Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. Being agnostic, I find in that piece, with very simple shapes, an inner serinity, like somthing fully complete.
For the Forgotten Love, this is here Guenievre and King Arthur — I had in mind all these women who guide humanity with their lights but remain in the Shadow of History. My train of thoughts started indeed with Guenievre, The King Arthur’s wife, and I was baffled to see how few we have been written about her — My hometown not far from Broceliande, the Arthurian Legend and other Regional Legends have always been a source of passion and imagination. I feel special there — I feel the vibes from the land, and the ancestral magie- I can’t explain how and why — but there is a connection. And Few women played a part in the Legend, but Guenievre kept on fascinating me. I pictiure has the missing part to find the grail — and I thought about a Legend where Arthur would come back and realise that what he was looking for, for his entire time, laid in Guenievre in her unconditional Love and support in an heretic research.
And you can reflect back on all these women, being the strength of Humanity, keeping it all together — Like Madeleine with Jesus (I know it’s controversial) and I read further about Winnie Mandela, Mileva Maric (1st Einstein’s spouse)etc.
And this is controversial — as these string women, by staying in the shadow, for the sake of love, created a precedent by showing the ideal of feminity being caring and hiding and give all to the Masculinity. So, under the cuteness and peace this artworks brings — there is a mesaage to bring and force to light those who were forgotten by the common History. The Mythical is all about their impact in the Story telling of History, like a haunting shadow
For the Medium, I started with my usual watercolour, and I blended it with natural elements I brought back from a romantic walk in the Great Malvern (UK), like flowers and leaves. I left them on the wet paper, while the watercolour was drying, creating a structure in the splash of colours. Then, guided by the random stains and the remaining white of the paper, I draw the silhouettes of Guenievre and King Arthur with Ink — from 0.05mm to finish touches with 0.8mm.
After, I extended the power of watercolour with Digital tools, bringing it to life — so itcan breath in the Art space, and they can live their own life.
2) What do the pieces have to do with the theme of LOVE?
The line are all about caring — There is a sense of Universal love here, the unconditional ones — almost in a religious way. As an artist, as being myself, I feel love for everyone by default. This is something deeply anchored in me. Hence my art is always an Happy place I am sharing with the most, bringing some joy and calling for everyone’s imagination — I want people to enjoy my art as if they were children… as I create like a child too — priorising the fun and joy creating, splahing with the water, experiencing with bits and pieces that nature will bring to me.
So the line for Mythical love are all here to invite for a comforting vision of love and care — in a universal way — This could be seen as the love a mum would have for their children.
