Mars 2017

Curator: The painting we're looking at is titled "Mars," a mixed-media piece created by Daria Theodora in 2017. I am struck by its dreamlike, almost otherworldly quality. What do you make of it? Editor: My immediate reaction is that it's hauntingly beautiful, a delicate balance of fragility and power. The pale figure juxtaposed with the fierce tiger… there’s a strong narrative pull. What is going on here, culturally speaking? Curator: It speaks to me of a deep connection between humanity and the natural world, reflecting an ancient symbolic bond. The artist intertwines the human figure with floral motifs, a tiger, and cosmic elements – the beetle representing Khepri rising with the morning sun. All are bound up with the red disk above, the symbolic color and form of Mars, all combining painting and graffiti techniques. There is so much here! Editor: Yes, this certainly complicates the historical narratives around humans and nature, especially femininity, in the last five years or so. Tigers are potent symbols across cultures. Do you read it as a reclamation of power, or something else? What do the layers of cultural context tell us? Curator: I interpret it more as a communion, a harmony between perceived opposing forces. The young woman appears not to be controlling the tiger, but cradling it, sharing a moment of mutual comfort or understanding. Perhaps it also references a wider ecological conversation… it challenges the dominant, often exploitative, Western paradigm. It is a portrait speaking through and of a damaged environment. Editor: The painting technique itself, combining watercolor’s fluidity with something more graphic, feels significant. There's an interesting tension there between the established and the renegade, what has changed or persisted in social representations? Curator: I would say so! Think how the symbolism interacts with shifting global consciousness… the painting acts almost like a modern icon, embedding themes of harmony with nature to a rising audience. It visualizes hope. Editor: Interesting observation. A hope delivered in very turbulent times. Thank you for guiding us through. Curator: Thank you, our discussion revealed so much.