Leda with Swan Approaching, 2009 60.5cm x 121cm acrylic on canvas

I have a particular interest in the time and events that precede “important” moments. Such as the processes that lead up to a chemical reaction, the five shots taken just before a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph, or what someone was doing right before an earthquake hit. So in allegorical paintings, especially ones which have been repeated throughout time, my approach is to address these spaces prior to the event. In musical terms, the rest before the note. In Leda with Swan Approaching Leda sits doodling a pentagram, symbolic for conjuring, while the swan wildly approaches. At Leda’s side is a dead rat and and a facis (bundle of sticks). These two elements are editorial symbolism saying “there’s something that stinks about this story and it has the odorous quality of fascism.”   For those still unfamiliar with the story of Leda and the Swan, I came across this recounting of the story written by someone who is as equally nonplussed by this bizarre tale as I am and they also included several images from art history so,  two birds one stone.