In the Lair of Tiresias

In the Lair of Tiresias

“In the Lair of Tiresias”, an original oil on plywood painting, 48 x 48 inches, 2024.

The painting is an allegory of the soul’s journey after death, set within a personalised mythological framework:

1. The Realm: The setting is the underworld, referred to as “the realm of Tiresias.” In this mythology, Tiresias is not just a blind prophet but appears to be the sovereign or central figure of this domain.

2. The Condition of Souls: Lost souls here are “cursed by their lack of vision”. Trapped until they can comprehend Tiresias’s instructions this suggests a purgatorial state where understanding and insight are the keys to progression or liberation.

3. The Guide: The goddess Personaphone, a likely portmanteau of “persona” and “Persephone”, serves as the psychopomp, or guide. She carries the Lantern of Hope, illuminating the path for the newly departed.

4. The Action: The scene depicts the moment these new beings are greeted by the resident lost souls.

5. Symbolic Layer: Personaphone embodies winter and the incubation of nature, a period of dormant darkness necessary for eventual rebirth in spring. This directly mirrors the soul’s journey through the dark underworld toward potential renewal.

Conclusion

This work presents a visionary underworld where the goddess Personaphone, holding a Lantern of Hope, guides newly departed souls. They are met by lost souls trapped in the realm, cursed by their own lack of insight. The painting serves as an allegory for the soul’s journey through a state of darkness and incubation. This is necessary for eventual understanding and rebirth.

This work is not a literal illustration of Greek myth but a contemporary re-imagining. I am using classical archetypes to explore timeless themes:

• The Afterlife as a School of Understanding: The underworld is a state of learning, where “vision” is metaphorical, the insight needed to move on.

• Hope in Darkness: Personaphone’s lantern is the crucial element of hope and guidance amidst a cursed, stagnant population.

• Cycles of Death and Rebirth: The connection to seasonal cycles, winter/incubation, spring/reemergence, frames death not as an end, but as a necessary phase in a larger process of transformation.

The goddess Personaphone, embodying winter and the incubation of nature before its reemergence in spring, holds a significant role in this depiction.

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Fine art prints available from Saatchi Art.