Pygmalion

CONCEPT

Pygmalion Series (2024) reinterprets the ancient myth of Pygmalion and Galatea through a contemporary feminist lens. Across a series of acrylic paintings, I respond to various literary and theatrical adaptations of the myth, from Ovid and Bernard Shaw to W.S. Gilbert and Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm, each reframing the dynamics of creation, desire, and control.

The paintings serve as emotional responses rather than literal illustrations, positioning myth as a vehicle for catharsis and contemporary reflection on gender, authorship, and agency.

IDEATION

This body of work developed from my ongoing interest in myth, gender, and representation. Particularly how ancient narratives continue to remain relevant and shape cultural perceptions of femininity and artistic genius. I began by revisiting multiple retellings of the Pygmalion myth, mapping how each text repositions power between creator and creation. These narratives became emotional prompts rather than storyboards, allowing me to construct painterly interpretations guided by intuition and empathy.

Influenced by Lorna Simpson, Tracey Emin, and Salman Toor, I approached each piece with a focus on atmosphere, emotion, and agency. From Simpson, I drew the use of tonal palettes and obscured faces to evoke silence and control. From Emin, a sincerity of expression and vulnerability. From Toor, compositional flattening and liminal staging that transform scenes into spaces of psychological tension.

Each painting became a negotiation between myth and my lived experience. Between the marble stillness of the ideal and the visceral messiness of being human. Together, the works form a meditation on what it means to be looked at, made, unmade, and finally, to come alive on one’s own terms.

The first image is Suspended, 2015, by Lorna Simpson, Ink and acrylic on gessoed wood, 108x96 inches. Sourced from: https://lsimpsonstudio.com/paintings/venice-biennale-2015

The next image is And It Was Love, 2023, by Tracey Emin, acrylic on canvas. Sourced from: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/tracey-emin-lovers-grave-white-cube-2397246

The final images are Night Capture, 2021, by Salman Toor, Oil on panel, 14x18 inches. Sourced from: https://www.luhringaugustine.com/artists/salman-toor/videos?view=slider#tab:slideshow;slide:11;enlarge:true and Boys in Pink Bedsheets and Sock, 2021, Salman Toor, Oil on Panel, 16x20 inches. Sourced from: https://www.luhringaugustine.com/artists/salman-toor/videos?view=slider#tab:slideshow;slide:14;enlarge:true

WORKFLOW

The series was developed through an iterative, studio-based process combining structured research with intuitive making. I began by revisiting key literary adaptations of the Pygmalion myth, annotating passages that resonated emotionally. Each selected text informed a visual response, focusing less on narrative accuracy and more on how the dynamics of control, desire, and awakening could be expressed through gesture, colour, and composition.

I began with immediate sketches in pen and paper to establish initial compositions, followed by small painting tests in acrylic on cardboard, working quickly and intuitively to explore colour relationships. I settled on a pink and blue contrast between the male and female figures to emphasise their stereotyped roles and the power imbalance between them. The figures’ scale and body language became visual demonstrations of control, tension, and intimacy. Once the compositions were refined, I projected them onto board and developed the final paintings. I have since revisited the works, reworking the faces and backgrounds to strengthen emotional nuance and cohesion.

From Tracey Emin’s raw mark-making, I adopted an immediacy of brushstroke and a willingness to leave emotional traces visible on the surface. The compositions were constructed flatly, borrowing from Salman Toor’s spatial ambiguity to evoke psychological rather than physical depth. Through these experiments, each painting evolved as both confrontation and reclamation. The series became a dialogue between myth, memory, and the act of painting itself.