Eve
yearning. Courageous. Knowing. Free
Common images of Eve through art history are meant to remind women of their ever-present guilt and shame as an extension of Eve’s “original sin”. This piece offers an alternative to Eve’s story by celebrating her courage to wake up, and come into a state of full human being.
Eve accepts the invitation from the snake because she knows that she has to awaken to her full consciousness - or knowing. The snake at the time her story is written was associated with the goddess and was largely known as a symbol of wisdom as one who sheds their skin is born again. The death, spoken of as a consequence of eating from the tree, is not a literal death. This death is a rebirth - into a full state of being human and a rebirth into divine knowing. Eve yearns to know herself, to find her own path and her place in the world. In mythological terms Eve is embarking on a classic hero’s journey. In this piece the universe is unfolding before her in the sky as is a navigational system for her to explore. Only her hero’s journey is not celebrated, she is demonized for answering the same inner call as answered by her near contemporaries such as Job, Noah, Moses, and the famous Odysseus. Women are raised to carry the guilt and shame of her “sin” instead of honouring Eve’s courage.
This piece recognizes that the doctrine of the Latin church with their interpretation and perpetuation of Eve’s story dominates the history of modern western civilization, especially the origin of restrictive legislation on women. As christianity forcibly spread across the west the most pronounced doctrine of the church was that sin had entered the church through women, and that women’s tendency was towards evil. Because of this women must be made subservient and repentant. This piece confronts the western society’s origin story that is based on blame and invites the viewer to celebrate Eve’s hunger for knowledge and offer her gratitude for waking humanity from its slumber.
Artwork by Moonjube
