Tissue paper, oil bars, felt tips
“My lion (Roar Roar) In this picture my Lion was created to show the suffering faced at a time I felt I had to bear a burden for the different roles in life I was given, or volunteered for, and the unknown toll that they took on me and my physical and mental health. The lion is a metaphor for a life lived with all its scars and bandage marks. Being human can be a serious and heavy path and, as we grow into adulthood, little time for play and relaxation. We tend to put aside inspiration and creativity, an essential part of our “raw nature”. Rather than a flag this lion is holding a balloon, a playful frivolous object of fun. With his last breaths he is holding onto it, but its joy is to see it float upwards. This for me resonates with the idea of time and health feeling endless when you’re young, but not when you have aged and have ill health.
I wonder how easy a balloon is to play with when you are blessed with claws?
This piece was inspired by Grayson Perry’s – Sacred Tribal Artifact 2023
This piece speaks to me of ‘the past’ handing over to ‘the future’ represented by a lion and a young woman. ‘He’ the lion symbolises courage, pride and bravery but also fear, privilege and superiority as ‘the king of the jungle’. He has been in many battles and upheld past notions of power and ‘ world order’. He is now weary and old and is handing over to new notions of power with a feminine and cultural perspective.”
