An aggregate, Siren-like creature drags a hapless sailor to the briny depths.

Part of a group of images that I affectionately call my “Revenge Series”, this image also contains the idea of multiples. Sometime in late grad school, I started to think more about how certain species of birds, fish, insects, behave as one entity when they’re moving together toward a goal. We humans tend to believe we’re like separate atoms, but we behave in the aggregate quite a bit. Women in particular, who’ve only ever known anonymity until very recently, have traditionally found the group unit useful for achieving wider social change.

That was on my mind for this piece. I realize now that then I’d been subconsciously working through past trauma and seeking recourse for injustice where no reparation could ever be found. Imagining perpetrators getting their just desserts was just the kind of fantastic balm my psyche needed.

The design is still interesting to me. The hair is a large dropped out space that contrasts with the deeper background water and provides focus on the main character. The Siren and her attendant sea creatures create a circular shape and with the rope is similar to the "number 9” designs that Alphonse Mucha used a lot~ except inverted.

At some point I attempted to paint this image on a larger board and it didn’t go well (it started out too dark, too colorful, too detailed), so I scrapped it. And then I thought I didn’t have to paint it because the drawing completed all the work I needed it to do.

What are your thoughts about this work or the “revenge series?” I’d love it if you shared them in the comments below.