Idyia #2 2015

This is a portrait of the Greek Oceanid Idyia. With so many of the worlds oceans and waterways facing ecological crisis, I am interested in the mythological ecologists who protected their bodies of water and all the creatures who resided in them. This portrait, and the series from which it was drawn, represents a modern take on these goddesses- the subjects gaze ever watchful, intent on protecting her domain. Water, and more specifically the ocean, is my primary source of inspiration.The ideas that I explore are inspired by Aoteatoa’s identity as an ecologically isolated territory discovered by ocean borne navigators who looked to the skies currents to locate themselves.