The familiar opening book of Jewish and Christian scripture has recently received a lot of attention from scholarly and popular circles alike. Current studies interpret the work not as the expression of a single, monotheistic culture, but as a collection of ancient Hebrew myths and legends compiled between the 10th and 5th centuries BCE by authors of varying social, religious, and possibly even gender, orientations. The following paintings are loosely based upon some of the stories from Genesis, with a view to unlocking some of the voices buried beneath the current redaction.

Before the Flood

1998

Oil on canvas

60" x 56"

Based on Genesis 6, an obscure and fragmentary passage describing the age before the Flood, this painting represents a flawed creation from the perspective of the first generations of humanity. On a desert mountain, a ritualistic dance is performed, perhaps to bring the rain that ironically will lead to catastrophe. Monumental heads, derived from the modern sculptor Giacometti, loom over the horizon.

Eve's Dream

1998

Oil on canvas

20" x 16"

This small painting juxtaposes a variety of creation myths. Clockwise, from the left: A sleeping Eve; Adam, the androgenous first human, as an idol; the Mesopotamian cosmic battle between sky god (the bearded man) and the sea monster (the waves); and the Big Bang.

The Age of the Patriarchs

1998

oil on canvas

42" x 34"

The three Hebrew patriarchs here represented by two statue fragments and a prehistoric fossil set on a stone mountain.

The House of Laban

1998

oil on canvas

36" x 28"

An interior scene depicting Jacob's two wives, Rachel and Leah, with one of Leah's sons, probably Reuben, the eldest. The patriarchs (Jacob; their father, Laban) are conspicuously absent.