Zehra Dogan as the Shahmeran

Zehra Dogan is a Kurdish artist, journalist, activist, and feminist from the country of Turkey. For decades, Turkey has had a policy of suppressing Kurdish identity. Violence against Kurds in Turkey increased around 2015.

In 2017, Zehra Doğan was jailed for three years after being arrested on terrorism charges for her news reporting, as well as for sharing on social media an image of a painting she made of a Kurdish village destroyed by the Turkish military.

In November 2020, she showed works created in prison at a show in Istanbul, covered by ArtNet News.

I learned about Zehra while researching the Shahmeran, a mythical queen of snakes featured in Kurdish folklore. One of Zehra's works featured the Shahmeran. The Shahmeran holds the wisdom of the ages. She lives hidden in a cave in a secret garden filled with snakes. A mortal finds the cave and falls in love with Shahmeran. He promises to keep the cave secret. However, the king is ailing and is told that only the flesh of Shahmeran can heal him. Shahmeran's lover is followed and tortured until her location is revealed. She is slain...but she tricks everyone. She says her body is wisdom and life, while her head is death. Her lover eats a piece of her head, wanting to die of remorse. He gains her wisdom. The king and his advisors eat her body and die.

Shahmeran has recently become a symbol of resistance in against oppressive policies in Turkey. The Conversation reports that Shahmeran has appeared on a poster critical of Islam, accompanied by a "manifesto that called for respecting the rights of women, members of the LGBTQ community and nature itself."

In my painting, Shahmeran has the heads of Zehra Dogan, painting and speaking out even while imprisoned. Original and prints available from Saatchi Art.

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Asherah

An inscription from Khirbet El-Qôm (near Jerusalem) dated to the 700s BCE and translated by archaeologist Judith Hadley reads, "Uriyahu the Rich wrote it. Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh for from his enemies by his Asherah he has saved him by Oniyahu by his Asherah and by his A[she]rah.” ( Source ) Asherah was the Great Goddess of the Ancient Near East. From this inscription and other evidence, it is surmised that Yahweh, the God of the Jews, once had a wife - Asherah. Asherah was also sometimes known as Astarte and was associated with lions and the planet Venus, like her relative, Ishtar/Inanna. Asherah's symbol was the tree of life, and her worship involved sacred groves and asherah poles. Asherah original painting available through Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America. All of the Asherahs in my painting are based on figurines housed in the Isra...

Dewi Danu

Dewi Danu is a Balinese water, lake and river Goddess. The form of Hinduism practiced in Bali is also called Agama Tirta, or religion of the water ( source ). The "floating temple" of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, on the western shore of Lake Bratan, is dedicated to Dewi Danu ( source ). Built in 1633, the temple is used for offerings and ceremonies dedicated to the Goddess, due to the importance of Lake Bratan as a main source of irrigation in central Bali ( source ). In Bali, besides supporting irrigated agriculture, holy water also holds power that can "cleanse spiritual impurities, fend off evil forces, and render the recipient immune to the attacks of negative or demonic forces." "In Indonesian Hindu Dharma, the 4 elements of Nature, or panchamahabhuta (Earth, Water, Fire, Air) are used in all religious rituals. Out of those, Water is the building block of life and of all living beings that are at the mercy of [the] God[dess]" ( source ). Dewi Danu orig...

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In 1945, thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by an Egyptian farmer near the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. These early Christian texts date from the 3rd century CE, and include writings attributed to John the Baptist. The writings of John became known as the Secret Book of John, or the Apocryphon of John. A translation by Frederik Wisse can be read online . In the Apocryphon, there is a female counterpart to the Father - the holy Mother, Barbelo. "She is the forethought of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power... The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation... she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father." I became aware of the Apocryphon of John after reading a graphic novel by Marisa Acocella, The Big She-Bang, The Herstory of the Universe According to God the Mother (highly recommended, by ...

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Aine, Goddess of Midsummer

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Medusa

When you think of Medusa, you probably think of snake hair. But, do you know why she has snake hair? Misogyny and rape culture. Medusa was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple. As punishment, Athena gave Medusa snake hair. This made Medusa an exciting prize for would be heroes, so, in the aftermath of her rape, she was hunted by trophy-seekers. Perseus was the one to finally take her head. As a prize, he was reward with Pegasus, a flying horse who sprang from Medusa's severed neck, her rape baby with Poseidon. Thanks, Greek mythology. Original painting on recycled cedar shingle. More on Medusa: Vice News Prospect Magazine Wikipedia

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