The Epiphany of Wenut I Oil on canvas Size - 170 x 102 cm

Created - 2019

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First and second wave Feminists such as the British Suffragette, Millicent Fawcett, and the French theorist, Simone de Beauvoir are commonly criticised by later, ethnic minority Feminists such as Bell Hooks for only portraying the elitist perspective of white women, omitting the less privileged struggle of Black, Asian, Native American women as well as other Minorities. Bell Hooks is recognised for writing about the struggles that Black women experienced as well as emphasising that the feminist movement was exclusionary towards those women by virtue of its inattention to the interactions between race, gender, and class. Hooks argued that white women should recognise the fact that they, like ethnic minority men, occupied a position of being both oppressed while also being oppressors. Moreover, this triptych takes inspiration from the theories of author, Leonard Shlain, in his book “The Alphabet versus the Goddess”. This ground-breaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule within the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims. The background of each painting is inspired by a saturated version of the Icelandic Northern Lights, which the artist only saw once properly during her residency in the north of Iceland, in Hrisey Island. Kan is also interested in the touristic presentation of the Northern Lights in vibrantly bright colours in high-exposure photographs versus the faint vision of it by most adult eyes. According to scientific sources, human eyes cannot see the relatively “faint” colours of the aurora at night, thus the human eye generally views the Northern Lights in black and white tonalities. In short, following its diffuse nature, the atoms and molecules of our atmosphere do not glow with enough light for our eyes to pick it up and we end up seeing a whitish/greyish patch in the sky. Hence, the artist’s experience of the actual Northern Lights during her stay was rather disappointing after seeing the high exposure documentation photography, spoon-fed to tourists prior to her trip. Needless to say that Kan underwent Lasek surgery in 2011, leading to altered eyesight with blurry, haloed night vision.

The incorporation of the rabbit heads of these biologically defined female bodies emerge from the artist’s personal bunny avatar, symbolising her post-Soviet childhood in Kazakhstan, but likewise the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Wenut. Unut, also known as Wenut or Wenet, was a prehistoric Ancient Egyptian hare and snake goddess of fertility and new birth. Last but not least, the artist plans to expand this cross series in relation to transgender bodies. Known as "The swift one", the animal sacred to her was the hare, but originally, she had the form of a snake. She came from the fifteenth Upper Egyptian province, the Hare nome (called Wenet in Egyptian), and was worshipped with Thoth at its capital Hermopolis. Later she was depicted with a woman's body and a hare's head, whereby she was taken into the cult of Horus and later of Ra. Last but least, the artist envisages expanding this series to transgender bodies on the cross. As part of the NFT utilities for this triptych, you will have the unique opportunity to get a complimentary consultation from the artist herself about applying for art residencies in Iceland.