Huntress of the Sky 

Michael Hayes’ “Huntress of the Sky” captures a woman with a falcon, rendered with a striking steampunk aesthetic. The falcon is the dominant visual symbol. It's an ancient emblem of nobility, freedom, and aspiration, revered across cultures from Pharaonic Egypt, where Horus, the falcon-headed god, symbolized divine kingship, to medieval Europe, where falconry was the sport of kings. We see echoes of this symbolism in other works across time; consider the equestrian statues of emperors, often accompanied by eagles, or Renaissance portraits featuring noblemen with falcons, symbols of their elevated status and mastery. Here, the falcon's presence evokes a sense of empowerment and connection to the natural world. The woman's upward gaze suggests a yearning for the sublime, the infinite, the transcendent. This yearning, this almost primordial connection to the divine and nature, continues to resurface, evolve, and take on new meanings in differing contexts.