Virginia Mallon 

The "Goddess" body of work encompasses several  distinct yet interconnected series.

 

It began with a project titled Washed in on the Salt, that explored, in mixed media, loss and regret.  Images of biblical and mythological women are balanced against their current day counterparts.  It examined historic regret against contemporary.  The first in this series "Lot's Wife" takes inspiration from the Houseman poem:
 

"Half-way, for one commandment broken,

The woman made her endless halt,

And she today a glittering token,

Stands in the wilderness of salt.

Behind, the vats of judgement brewing

Thundered, and thick the brimstone snowed;

He to the hill of his undoing

Pursued this road."
 

Two recent project that came from this effort  are "Even in the Garden" and "Inner Beasts." Both critically examine the historical and contemporary roles of women, exploring the dynamics of power, societal influence, and identity.

 

"Even in the Garden" deconstructs prevalent myths, biblical narratives, and fairy tales to investigate their portrayal of women's societal positioning. This series posits that these foundational, often fictive, accounts symbolically represent the erosion of feminine power and the emergence of patriarchal structures. Tracing its conceptual origins from antiquity to the present, "Even in the Garden" scrutinizes the persistence of antiquated ideologies within contemporary contexts. The title itself underscores the pervasive and historical vulnerability of women, suggesting that even in archetypal paradises, women have faced systemic challenges.

 

Inner Beasts -  "Inner Beasts" critically analyzes the pervasive societal conditioning that mandates female conformity from an early age. This phenomenon is exemplified by cultural dictates, such as those satirized in the film Barbie, which prescribe rigid standards of appearance and behavior.  Such prescriptive norms necessitate a form of "masking," wherein individuals conceal their authentic selves to mitigate scrutiny and adhere to prevailing social pressures. This series aims to reveal the underlying, often suppressed, authentic identities that exist beneath these performative facades.