Elysium Fields

Exhibition Statement

 

“Buried beneath, Elysium Fields, a place where no snow, nor heavy storm, nor ever rain, but ever so slightly the West Winds breeze of the shrill cool air.”

-Pythonisa

 

Elysium Fields is the saga of the Goddess Pythonisa of Elysium and her magical-earth dwelling daughters. Partial immortality, immaculate conception, omniscient vision, spell casting and power are the attributes of the Pythonisan family lineage. Witchcraft is inherited from mother to daughter, while the daughters have the power to teach humans witchcraft, creating the Python coven. When the last earth-walking daughter of Pythonisa is murdered, without giving birth to the next generation, a resurrection begins of the daughters and their hybrid familiars. They restore the bloodline and protect the earth.

-Elysium Fields by Gloriann Langva

  

These works are influenced by my research of the art during the Northern Renaissance and the folklore of witchcraft in Europe and the Americas. Topics of spirituality, culture, religion, worship and ritual practices play important roles in the narrative of these sculptures. The female protagonists represent strong and intelligent women. They are feminist figures created in response to historical and current cultural sexism and violence toward women.

 

 

I would like to thank my committee, Gerit Grimm, Nancy Mladenoff, Gail Simpson and Frederick Stonehouse for the discussions and encouragement during the making and research of this body of work.

 

Special thank you to Cate Richards for exhibition support, Mark Turner for being a genius and Olivia Gallenberger for being my assistant.