Monday 26 May 2014

'The Daughter of the Minotaur'

The female minotaur sculpture is next up in my series of posts discussing some of the ideas behind my work. She has elicited a huge variety of responses from those who have encountered her. Some quite sinister. Perhaps because Jesus with little children is such a familiar scenario.
 
 
 
 
She is actually an amalgamation of several ideas and influences. My father used to tell us how, as a small child, he was occasionally taken to visit an old aunt whom he was obliged to kiss and hug. It is a common enough childhood experience. He used to dread it. To his young eyes she has a wobbly cow-like chin and huge breasts which he feared may suffocate him as he was clutched to them! The Daughter of the Minotaur represents those characters and situations which convention (and adults) seems to approve and accept but we, as children, are really not so sure about. Sometimes it's all in the child's vivid imagination (as with my father) but unfortunately sometimes the minotaur is very sinister. 

In this second piece I have started to develop the minotaur's story. She is not an altogether sympathetic character I'm afraid.
 


Her age should mean she is revered but her circumstances are not very grand. She is an imperious creature, sitting in a rather dilapidated armchair, reliant on relatives (those she still has power over) to do her bidding. I have put her on the sort of trolley a child might pull along.



One day I will create a series of pictures featuring my minotaur.
(This is a little drawing from my sketchbook)
But I will continue to be intrigued by other people's interpretations of The Daughter of the Minotaur.

3 comments:

  1. Hi kate I just found your response to one of my comments - about your bird man collagraph. I see you have enabled the follow by email thingy . Your stuff all assembled for your degree show looks excellent.

    I am sure you will get a good response from the assessors and the visitors to the degree show.
    Best wishes

    Aine

    by the way this character you describe above reminds me of my mother !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Aine, thankyou for the encouragement. Whatever the results I'm really glad I decided to do my 3rd year at UWE. It has given me much more confidence in my abilities. I am a bit worried about losing momentum once the degree is all over and there are no more deadlines...

      Delete
    2. PS A copy of your print 'Echo' was my sketchbook as part of the reference material for my Story Keeper sculptures. I love the mystical and poetic quality of your work.
      Kate

      Delete