The Freedom

of the Maenads

A celebration of queer identities and feminine companionship, this painting is a protest against the vitriol recently shown towards the trans community. Within this piece I aimed to capture the sense of companionship, freedom and love that is often found in chosen families, especially amongst the queer community.

To represent this, I pulled from the classical mythology of Dionysus and the Maenads. People and women who rejected the restrictive standards of the societies they were born into and ran into the woods to be wild, free and a little bit ‘unnatural’ fit perfectly within the narrative of the transgender community.

And at its throne is the figure of Dionysus. A historically genderqueer figure, often confused with Hermaphroditus, here we see them at the head of this chosen family. Dressed in bold colours and holding their traditional staff, they look at the viewer with a challenging gaze as though challenging them to disrupt this scene of natural satisfaction and peace.