Minerva et Arachne
My illustration and one-page comic for “MÉTAMORPHOSES”, an art project reinterpreting Ovid’s epic in the form of a new poetic, funny, surreal and iconoclastic work.
16 artists have been involved in addressing creatively Ovid's Metamorphoses main myths: I was assigned Minerva and Arachne story from Book VI.
Arachne, a young Lydian girl and an immensely skilled weaver, challenges Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare and crafts, to a weaving contest. While Minerva depicts her own glory and the harsh punishments imposed on mortals who dare to reach too high, Arachne’s tapestry shows several humiliating instances of the gods taking advantage of mortal women. In the end, although it is proven that Arachne truly can weave like a goddess, Minerva, acting out of jealousy and anger, destroys the opponent’s work and punishes the girl by turning her into a spider.
The project, curated by Squame, resulted in the production of limited edition artbooks (both in Italian and French), posters and an ongoing series of shows.
16 artists have been involved in addressing creatively Ovid's Metamorphoses main myths: I was assigned Minerva and Arachne story from Book VI.
Arachne, a young Lydian girl and an immensely skilled weaver, challenges Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare and crafts, to a weaving contest. While Minerva depicts her own glory and the harsh punishments imposed on mortals who dare to reach too high, Arachne’s tapestry shows several humiliating instances of the gods taking advantage of mortal women. In the end, although it is proven that Arachne truly can weave like a goddess, Minerva, acting out of jealousy and anger, destroys the opponent’s work and punishes the girl by turning her into a spider.
The project, curated by Squame, resulted in the production of limited edition artbooks (both in Italian and French), posters and an ongoing series of shows.
