Title: Owl-Mother

Date: 2021

Description: The painting is part of my Ph.D. thesis, and it is its literal and symbolic beginning. In 2025, thirty years will have passed since the death of my mother, Krystyna, who died when I was nineteen years old. The painting reflects our relationship at that time. It expresses my longing for her, not only because of her premature death, but also because I didn’t know her well. I depicted her as an allegory of the owl. The painting is a nocturne. The source of light may be the full moon. Mom is depicted in a mandorla. This refers to images of the Madonna and Child, indicating our daughter-mother relationship, but also that the Virgin Mary was an important figure in her spirituality. On my mother’s right arm is a linear pattern, resembling the beginning of a spiderweb. This is a symbol of the beginning of a spun story. Mom is as if suspended in nothingness or in a cold place at the ends of the world. Her gaze is sad, absent, and focused on something invisible. She invites us to stop and delve deep into the unknown, to reach into the extrasensory realm. In Neolithic matristic cultures researched by Maria Gimbutas, the owl was a death symbol. This was related to its nocturnal lifestyle and silent movement. In my painting, the owl represents the potential for regeneration and a new beginning.

Technique, dimension: oil on canvas, 80 × 60 cm

First showing: 2023, Czapski Palace, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw

Ownership: Monika Waraxa