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DONA SIMONS

Invertebrate Mythology

Ancient mythology evolved as a way to explain nature in terms of human experience. Many Greek myths involve stories of dramatic transformations. With this series of paintings, I transform aspects of marine invertebrates into an artist’s vision, illusions posing as reality. In this way I reinvent one small part of nature from a human perspective.

In these works many of the forms represent sea anemones. Sea anemones, with their sensual movement and lush colors, attract and then sting to death. They are fleshy and yet their jeweled colors are far from fleshlike. They are the skin of our wildest dreams. The paintings describe their exquisite and dangerous qualities.

The word anemone comes from Greek mythology. When Adonis died from being attacked by a wild boar his lover, the goddess Venus, transformed his blood into anemones or, the literal English translation, wind flowers.

Most of the work on these paintings was done from life at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. While the works are realistic the magnified scale of the subject matter creates abstract qualities. This opens them to individual interpretation. Sometimes I am tempted to call them my “Rorschach” series.

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