Ships in a Crate

Original Painting: Oil on Linen.

 Size: 128 H x 128 W x 4 cm

The work is a response to the sub culture of fetish and sadomasochism. A Valkyrie stands before a triskelion. The three legs are known in Manx as ny tree cassyn ("the three legs"). The triskelion is an ancient symbol, used by the Mycenaeans and the Lycians. This could be an alter ego, disguise or fantasy. The work was inspired by costumes and collages of images from magazines. The viewer is invited to take a fascinated look at the slick surfaces that the glossy and matt paint evoke and suggest.

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting half of those who die in battle, the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr). There, the deceased warriors become einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"). When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses.