TRADITIONAL ILLUSTRATION
Modernity vs mythology
This collection of illustrations features eight distinct goddesses, each embodying the antithesis of the women portrayed in traditional Greek mythology. Every goddess within this series possesses a unique narrative that defines her as a deity for the contemporary era. To purchase illustrations click here
Aphrodite - Goddess of ̶L̶o̶v̶e̶ The Apps
Aphrodite is 55, two years divorced, and she's finally got her mojo back. Earlier in the year, she had lunch with her niece and told her she regretted all her well-behaved years and that she was ready to let her hair down and have some fun. Her niece said she had just the thing and helped set up all her profiles on the apps. Much to her nieces delight, Aphrodite's favourite one has been Feeld.
Aphrodite is not interested in love (she's had enough of that), but through Feeld, she's found herself in a thruple with a lovely couple from the Cotswolds called Fi and Jim. She sees them once a month when they come down to London and have an absolutely wild evening doing things she never knew was possible! In the morning, Fi and her swap recipes and crime drama recommendations. They are gone by midday, and she can't help but think this is the best relationship she has ever had.
Today, she's decided to tell the book group what she's been up to. It's Jean's book choice this month, so it's another menopause misery memoir so they could all do with a laugh.
Leto - Goddess of ̶Mo̶t̶h̶e̶r̶h̶o̶o̶d̶ Rich Aunties
'It's always the best weekend ever when Auntie Leto comes round. We never know when it will be, because her job in fashion means she travels around the world A LOT.
She comes into the house like a glamorous whirlwind. She always gives us way too many presents and mum has a go at her. She drives a sports car that dad says is in-practical, but we all know that he’s just jealous.
Once, I asked her if she would ever have kids of her own, and she said she’s too busy with world domination, and when I’m 18, I can come with her! She takes us to west end shows, lets us stay up late and swears loads which is so funny. She is my favourite auntie and I always cry when she leaves.'
Demeter - Goddess of ̶F̶e̶r̶t̶i̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶ Contraception
Demeter first got her period when she was 14 and cried. She knew it was the end of something she would never get back. Now she was different from the boys she loved to hang out with in a way she could not explain but could feel in the way adults spoke to her.
That was the day her mother sat her down and explained the blessing and the curse of their family. She came from a line of extremely fertile women. Demeter had 4 brothers, and as much as her mother loved them all, she wanted a different life for her daughter to the one she had.
Demeter entered her womanhood fully armed and protected. She was like a walking gum clinic, spreading the good word at university, sharing her knowledge of pills, implants, and coils.
The coil was by far her favourite, stopping her periods entirely she felt science had gifted her a small bit of freedom from womanhood, which she so often felt held back by.
Iris - Goddess of ̶R̶a̶i̶n̶b̶o̶w̶s̶ ̶ Pride
'Iris has been married to her partner for 5 years. After getting married, they decided to start a family. They set up an appointment with their GP excited to start the process. They were nervous about IVF, but they had watched their best friends Sarah and Jack get their beautiful baby girl through 2 rounds funded by the NHS.
In the appointment, they were told they were not eligible for IVF on the NHS unless they had been through 5 rounds of artificial insemination. This was to ‘make it fair for straight couples’. The artificial insemination was not offered on the NHS, and paying for 5 rounds to qualify for the free IVF would cost more than paying for the IVF itself.
It has taken them 5 years to save enough money to start their journey towards building their family. They persevere to build a beautiful life, proud of who they are, and resilient in the face of institutional discrimination.'
Athena Goddess of ̶W̶a̶r̶ Protest
'She is half Jewish, and her boyfriend is half Arab. They are both born British and are devout atheists. Their shared Britishness, love of sunday roasts, weather chat, and intimate knowledge of Eastenders from the 90s is the make up of who they are.
As British as they both are, their heritage is stamped on their surnames, which they are both are proud of, and the history of their ancestry follows them around like a shadow, laying the path to their present.
Recently, they watch the news together, hold each other, and cry. They don't know what they did to deserve to be born here and not there. The idea of being either side of a war instead of entangled in love is unfathomable. They know its accident of birth, nothing more.
Athena struggles between feelings of hope, which feels naive, and nihilism, which feels hopeless.
So she marches. She shares, she donates, she writes, she reads, she listens, she talks to her friends, her colleagues, nothing feels like enough, but she can't just watch, she will protest.
And she holds her love ones close and prays to the god she does not believe in 'there but for the grace of god go I'
Khaos - Goddess of ̶C̶h̶a̶o̶s̶ Ordered Priorities
She will not hand make a fancy dress costume for world book day, she does not have time or the inclination. But she will spend time researching how best to explain consent to her 10 year old son who came home and very cutely announced he has a girlfriend and they have had their first kiss on the cheek.
She is extremely good at her corporate job, and she knows it. But she will not take the promotion they have offered her 3 times because it is double the workload and only £8k more pay, and she is not a mug.
She is obsessed with interior accounts on instagram, especially ridiculous tablescaping. But she will not clean the kitchen table because both her children and her husband are completely capable of doing it themselves, and they all know it. She will wait them out.
Hera - Goddess of ̶M̶a̶r̶r̶i̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶ Singledom
Hera sprawls out in the middle of her king-size bed. She sleeps in till 10 am on Sundays, and it is bliss. Today, on her to-do list is go to pilates, swing by the flower market, sort out the MOT, put her new black out blinds up, and plan her next yoga trip to Bali.
She is 35, single and happy. There is no doubt being single in your 30s comes with its challenges. No division of labour when it comes to adulting can be exhausting, but she is not prepared to settle. Since turning 30, she has watched her incredibly intelligent and beautiful female friends get married to ‘Garys’ who work in insurance, pretend to be feminists and have receding hairlines. She truly hopes they are happy. She knows not all of them are, as sad confessions spill out after 2 bottles of wine in hushed tones on John Lewis sofas.
She bumps into one of the drunk Gary's at the girls Christmas do. He puts his arm around her,
‘How's Spinster life treating you, Hera? I can't believe you're still on the shelf it's a crime’
Hera replies
‘Did you know the origin of the term Spinster is the name for women who earned money in the 1300s spinning thread, meaning they did not need to marry awful men to survive?
I'm well, Gary.
How's the research into hair plugs going, Claire said you found somewhere affordable in Bulgaria?’
Artemis - Goddess of ̶H̶u̶n̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶ Deliveroo
Sunday is the day of rest. You must reach maximum chill. Artemis will not spend 4 hours cooking a roast. She will order a Nandos.
She is a ninja on Deliveroo . She knows what travels well (sushi) and what doesn't (burgers, unless it's a breakfast one from maccy D's)
She will always tip her drivers, double when it's raining because they are doing gods work.
Once, when it was 40 degrees in London and she had to work from home in her sweat box flat, she got a single magnum delivered to her to save her life, it cost her £11 and it was worth every penny.
To purchase illustrations click here
SKETCH BOOK
