Ms Emma Hogarth—Pythia of Delphi – 1992

Oil on canvas board
With frame 68.3 x 61 cm,
Canvas 42 x 34.5 cm

The anti-aesthetic appeal of this gesture was an assertive statement proclaiming her lesbian status, not uncommon during the early nineties in Sydney. She has the striking beauty of a young man but exudes the power of all women. My concern here was to locate the interstice, where male and female roles collide. In this case Emma is the epitome of the independent post feminist era, a role model.

In the Delphic myth Pythia the priestess was the conduit through which the oracle was made known. Originally she was always a young native of Delphi and once in the service of the gods was never allowed out of it. She never married.

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