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stephen linsteadt

Medusa's Coral l Stephen Linsteadt

Medusa's Coral, oil on canvas, 193 x 212 cm, 2021 - $7,500

Myth has it that coral was created when Perseus laid down the severed head of Medusa beside the shore of the Red Sea and drops of her blood spilled onto seaweed causing them to harden into coral. With 50% of the world's coral now bleached and dying, it calls into question if there is a deeper meaning behind the death of coral beyond rising temperatures. Joseph Campbell suggested the myth of Medusa may also refer to an actual event relating to an end of a society or group and the shock of a severed head represented the sociological trauma of that event. He also said the only myth worth talking about in the immediate future is one about the planet. He said that because he was concerned about the health of our planet and its inhabitants. The health of our planet is steadily becoming the current day sociological trauma.


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