Acrylic on linen

36" x 60"

December 2021

This painting is a celebration of the god Sutekh and all the mysteries and wonders that He is.

It is also a celebration of statues of the gods and the wonders that god statues bring. This concept and that of idolatry in particular is the theme of this exhibition.

The painting features a statue created by Russian sculptor Vladimir Kolesyankin based on my 2012 painting Winged Set (seen earlier in this exhibition). It is a symphony of wonder carved in wood!

The majesty of the sculpture demanded a painting of its own, and so this work was born. In the painting, I have reproduced the statue as if it were rendered in gold. Did a piece like this exist once in antiquity?

Apart from being an outstanding work of art by the sculptor, the piece is clearly rendered from the painting that it was based on.

The hieroglyphs read as the title:

I had not seen truth before the images of the gods were born.

The phrase comes from the forthcoming "The Book Of Utterances" by Ptahmassu - it is the verse titled Utterance For Not Entering The Slaughter-House Of Netjer.