Medusa

Medusa. White Carrara marble, diamond wire, 40x40x30 cm.

In classical Greek mythology, Medusa was a beautiful women, a priestess to Athena. Then, she was assaulted by Poseidon in Athena’s temple. And she was cursed by Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. The beautiful Medusa was turned into a monster with hair made out of living, venomous snakes. All those who met her eyes were turned to stone.

In my sculpture, I interpret this old myth in a new way. Here, Medusa is the creator. I represent Medusa as the original female sculptress. She makes stone artworks by gazing into people’s eyes. At one and the same time, Medusa is a sculptor and the very “tool” itself by which sculpture is created. In this artwork, Medusa’s hair is made not from snakes but from machinery for marble, including the diamond wires used in marble quarries for cutting stone. My interpretation of the myth of Medusa has several layers of meaningful symbolism: First, this sculpture represents the story of a woman, who was pursued and raped by a man, but was then herself punished not only by another woman but also by society. This is a story of violence and injustice. But more than this, Medusa represents the story of a woman who empowers herself by claiming her own voice, that is, by taking this violence and injustice and turning it into art and beauty. This sculpture is my manifesto about the very nature of artmaking itself: take the pain, turn it to stone, and transcend death with eternity.