When She Weaved the Web of Life
63 x 74 cm
Watercolor and Gouache on Paper
2024
What does it mean when an archaic goddess who once protected humans, now, weaves an ecosystem of primitive plants, imaginary birds, rocks, mountains, and roots?
In this painting, I re-imagine one of the most revered, Ancient Egyptian goddesses Taweret. She is a protective goddess of mother and child during pregnancy and child-birth. She is a composite figure of Hippopotamus, Crocodile, Lion and Human. She uses her fearsome nature as an apotropaic device against demons who seek to destroy mother and child in their times of weakness.
Here Taweret is represented giving birth to an ecosystem rather than a human child. The works proposes alternative means to think about the notions of motherhood, care, symbiosis, reciprocity and explores the inter-relation between humans and more than humans.
5000 years ago, it was believed that Taweret, a diminutive deity could save the children of thousands of humans, but humans could not save Taweret from themselves. Both hippopotamus and lion which roamed freely are now extinct .