‘Susanna, Even the Oak Betrayed You.’ (After Gentileschi with Divine Totemic)

In response to Artemesia Gentileschi's 1610 painting Susanna and the Elders.
2022, YinMn Blue oil paint and liquid gold leaf on Kraft paper with stitching, prikwork and divine totemic. painting dimensions 670 x 370 cm, Installation view. Hands: Ann Quilter, Ellen Wight, Sadie Wight, Ronan Porter, Mariam Nakiwala, Veronika Benk. Collection: Susanna, Installation, Painting.

Prickwork: (L to R)
"The moral of the story, ladies, is THIS: as long as you are a VIRTUOUS WOMAN, god will save you, no matter what kind of a pickle you find yourself in. But that's not really what the lesson is here is it? The lesson is you are not safe. These are not really images of VIRTUOUS WOMEN are they?

No. They are images of a woman being attacked by trusted Elders in her community, again and again. These elders are serial offenders, abusing through the centuries from painting to painting over and over again.
It is a crime, a cold case, and there are clues to be found here. Clues that can tell us why it happens and how to make it stop"

Lettering:
Left side: "The work your mother did is not work you will finish"
Top: "The work is not historical"
Right side: "But it is work that must be done"
Bottom: "carborundorum.carborundorum 1973.1992.2022"
"Nolite te bastardes carborundorum"

Bottom Prickwork: "A young beautiful woman and one who feared the lord. The tale of Susanna. (v.v. 2-3, NRSV)"