White Skirt, Lightning and Serpent

Year

2023

Medium

Paper/mixed media

Dimensions

42x30

Series

Dreams of Immigration

The artist turns to the iconographic motif of Saint George the Victorious, reinterpreting it through the image of a contemporary girl named Irina. In this work, the traditional story of the battle with the serpent is transferred into the space of a personal fairy tale, where the heroine is no longer a passive character, but an active figure of resistance. The image of Saint George is not quoted literally here and is not used as a religious illustration. Rather, the artist works with the recognizable structure of the story: the hero, the serpent, the confrontation with darkness, and the victory over a threatening force. Replacing the knight with a female figure emphasizes feminine strength, determination, and the right to be the subject of action, not merely the object of rescue. Similar shifts can be found in stories from different cultures. In the story of Mulan, the heroine takes on the role of a warrior in order to protect her family. Boudica, queen of the Iceni tribe, became one of the historical symbols of resistance to Roman rule in Britain, leading an uprising against Rome in the 1st century CE. In fairy-tale tradition, female characters are also increasingly seen not only as passive maidens waiting for a hero, but as figures who become protectors themselves and save others. In White Skirt, Lightning and Serpent, this motif gains a personal and contemporary meaning. The heroine fights not only an external enemy, but also an image of inner evil: her own fears and weaknesses. This makes the victory especially valuable. The composition as a whole creates the feeling of a fairy-tale duel, where iconography is combined with the language of comics and children’s illustration. The work reprocesses the original image, transferring its structure into a contemporary artistic context, where the heroine herself becomes a figure of protection.