Eva 

Sarah Joncas created this painting, entitled Eva, in the twenty-first century. It presents us with an opportunity to consider the politics of imagery around gender and identity. The figure is surrounded by flora and fauna: flowers and snakes. These symbols carry cultural weight and historical associations. The name Eva is a clear reference to the biblical Eve, the first woman, whose story is entwined with similar symbolic elements. We can ask ourselves, how does the painting use these traditional symbols? Does it reinforce or subvert them? Joncas's artwork is self-consciously progressive. It invites us to question the social conditions that shape artistic production and it challenges existing social norms, particularly around representation. It also reflects the institutional context: the artist is working in a time when the dominance of traditional hierarchies is being questioned. To understand it better, research into the artist’s background and the cultural discourse around gender representation in the early twenty-first century may be needed.