Red Moon’s Call
Oil on Canvas
24 x 20 Inches
July 2017
According to Taoist tradition, on the eve of the Gods, the night of the red moon, roles are carried out by male dancers with painted faces symbolizing transmutation and change. Females are excluded from this tradition due to the so-called impurity of their menstruation.
This painting portrays a reversal of this, a female painting her face, about to accept her divine transformation on the night of red moon, in defiance of social customs. The aesthetic is also a reversal of traditional Chinese painting, with white on black instead.
I hope to express a sense of empowerment for women in conservative cultures to not be held back by the old ways, and transmute themselves, under the red moon.