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ALCYONE

Glazed stoneware H13*18*13cm 2024

A chimera of a woman/kingfisher, Alcyone is a symbol of romantic tragedy and the life/death/life cycle.
Madly in love with her husband, she learns one night in her dreams that he died in a shipwreck. Plunged into the deepest despair, she sees her husband's body washed ashore by the waves the next morning. During her frantic race to reach him, she is unaware of the metamorphosis taking place within her. However, the merciful gods have decided to transform the couple into halcyons (kingfishers) to allow them to continue their romance on the waves.

Original text - Book XI of Ovid's "Metamorphoses"

Stoneware and enamel chimera/kingfisher. Ceramic sculpture by Louise de Gastines.

Alcyone, female chimera/kingfisher, stoneware and enamel. Ceramic sculpture by Louise de Gastines.

Detail of Alcyone's head. Ceramic sculpture by Louise de Gastines

Detail of Louise de Gastines' creation Alcyone. White stoneware and enamels.

Detail of the enamel on the wing of the sculpture by Louise de Gastines. Alcyone

Detail of Louise de Gastines' creation Alcyone. Chest and body entering the water.

Back view of Alcyone. Ceramic creation by Louise de Gastines.

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