Leda. Catharsis

The project consists of 31 canvases divided into 5 blocks. Each block represents a separate stage of the mythological process theme: the process of Catharsis. Each block has its own unique voice in colour and rhythm. The first is dominated by darker hues. These hues symbolise the night of the soul. The first block symbolises the despair of the human being desperately seeking to realise new truths, groping blindly in the darkness without a light to follow.

The main hero of the collection is Leda, queen of Sparta, who was seduced by almighty God Zeus. She gives birth to two eggs: one containing the sisters Helen and Clytemnestra, the other – the brothers Castor and Pollux. These names form the foundation of western mythology, the foundation of our psyche.

Catharsis is the term used by Aristotle to describe the psychological function in the tradition of tragic theatre, the climax of the tragedies brought upon the release of the tremendous pent-up energies of the audiences’ psyche. By the function of catharsis, the soul is released from its earthly bonds and ascends in pure form towards the union with the One.

The human spirit cannot survive for long in this stage of pure despondency. It will be eaten by darkness, extinguished by shadows, if it cannot call forth its divine nature.