Medusa’s Secrets
2021
Joanna Barnum
Watercolour on paper
︎@joannabarnum
joannabarnum.com
“When you are no longer beautiful but wield other powers, they won't look at you. They will paint you as a monster, but you are more than a hero's quest for those who would listen. This painting is a self portrait with the head of Medusa, the snakes representing the hard won wisdom of experience. This piece is about my struggle with aging as a woman, as I enter middle age, feeling the loss of the youth and beauty that patriarchal society uses to determine a woman's worth, but discovering what power lies in a life beyond these superficial values.”
2021
Joanna Barnum
Watercolour on paper
︎@joannabarnum
joannabarnum.com
“When you are no longer beautiful but wield other powers, they won't look at you. They will paint you as a monster, but you are more than a hero's quest for those who would listen. This painting is a self portrait with the head of Medusa, the snakes representing the hard won wisdom of experience. This piece is about my struggle with aging as a woman, as I enter middle age, feeling the loss of the youth and beauty that patriarchal society uses to determine a woman's worth, but discovering what power lies in a life beyond these superficial values.”
