lioness mother
2026
reclaimed fabrics, knitwear fragments, leather, threads, painting loom
100 × 100 cm, tondo

The circular composition references Renaissance depictions of the Madonna and Child by artists such as Raphael and Michelangelo. The arrangement of figures, their stillness and frontal alignment evoke sacred iconography, yet the central figure is not the Virgin Mary, but a lioness.

Her posture is calm, almost monumental. She holds two children in a natural, unforced gesture of protection. Here, strength is not expressed through aggression but through presence. The lioness embodies motherhood as vigilance and stability — an instinct that requires no demonstration.

At her feet lies a scorpion. In ancient beliefs, it was attributed a particular form of parental self-sacrifice. In this context, it suggests that motherhood is not solely an image of gentleness, love, and protection, but also a readiness for sacrifice that exceeds the boundaries of the individual “self.”

In the background unfolds a landscape — a world remaining outside the circle of maternal care. The central figure persists in silence, uniting gentleness with a concealed force.