:: 2009 :: 59cm x 84cm :: Inks and Markers on Card ::
A counterpoint to Hands On Rock: where in the former we see an individual seeking to make connection with the ‘other world’ of the cave wall, here we see an embodiment of that ‘other world’ in the image of the Palaeolithic female. The so-called Venus figurines have been found spanning the entire period of the Upper Palaeolithic, and enfolded into this work are images of two of them, along with the unique bison-woman hybrid painting found in Chauvet Cave, surrounded by entoptic forms. These forms are now so archetypal as to be almost hard-wired into modern humanity and an interesting dichotomy may arise in perceiving this embodied expression: male viewers may well find themselves seeking, like Hands On Rock, to connect, as it were, externally to this image and its representations, whilst female viewers may well experience a kind of internal recognition. Given that the dominant image we moderns have of this age is of the male hunter, this work provides a subtle contrast through the expression of the sacred female...
