Mixed Media
2022
48″ x 36″
Another New Mythology piece, “Andromeda Triumphant” emerged as my vision of the Andromeda myth with a modern twist, weaving her tale of survival and transformation into my ongoing theme of technology’s uneasy clash with nature. Andromeda’s story—a young woman offered as a sacrifice to the monstrous consequences of human actions—felt fitting to explore in a world where humanity often attempts to overpower nature.
In the painting, the vivid green serves as a symbol of nature’s resilience, creating a lush and unruly backdrop, a reminder that nature is both the setting and force behind Andromeda’s triumph. The splashes of blue, pink, yellow, and peach represent her tenacity and freedom, an uncontainable energy pushing through, like something organic fighting against containment.
As I layered collage fragments of hands and faces into the swirling green, they became symbols of humanity’s influence—both its ingenuity and arrogance. These black-and-white, fragmented figures feel almost ghostly, as if watching the scene from a distance or from another time. They suggest those who once chose Andromeda’s fate, their faded presence a testament to the potential consequences of humanity’s reckless attempts to tame the wild. For me, these faces and hands aren’t only witnesses to Andromeda’s victory but silent reminders of the technology-driven world that can seem blind to nature’s force, or, worse, at odds with it.
The painting’s chaotic energy, from the unruly splatters to the controlled placement of collage, reflects a world where humanity and nature stand in tension. Andromeda Triumphant is a vision of a victory that isn’t just personal but symbolic—a reminder that nature, like Andromeda, can endure and even thrive despite what’s inflicted upon it. The work captures a complex triumph, one marked by scars from the battle between technology and the organic world, and it challenges us to look closer, to consider our role in this ongoing struggle and the cost of attempting to conquer what is beyond us.
Bitter with the Swede 