About This Work

This is an original, one-of-a-kind painting on 1.5" (3.81 cm) thick gallery wrapped canvas done in oil. The painting inspired by different flood myths around the world. There are over 200 flood myths and stories, and many of them share the same theme of a deity or deities sending a flood as retribution against humankind. Sacred animals also play important roles in many of these stories. They are helpers, saviors, and keepers of what happened in the past. Artist Statement "In my work I explore the spiritual relation between humans and animals. By creating highly stylized oil paintings with the moving wave like sections of colors, I am able to represent the divine connection between everything on this planet and the universe. The starting points for my research are myths, legends, and belief systems of indigenous people of the African continent that are often ignored, banished or misrepresented by a Western education. Over time, my research is leading me to question the origins of humanity, which makes finding the answer as to why humans perceive and treat animals the way they do more perplexing and intriguing. My current body of work centers around the symbolism of lion in Africa. This feral being is worshipped throughout the continent, starting from the Zulu legend of the white lion in South Africa and moving North to the mysterious Sphinx in Egypt. I read the books of the Zulu sangoma and storyteller, Credo Mutwa, conservationist from the South Africa, Linda Tucker, and the works of Robert Bauval, Graham Hancock, Robert M. Schoch, John Anthony West and many more involved in the topic regarding the origin of the Sphinx. My research guides me in the space where legends and myths are seen as integral parts of the history while always surrounded by the stigma of ignorance and disbelief." - Irina Pushkareva