Oil on panel
16.75 x 24.1875 in
42.545 x 61.43625 cm
Copyright The Artist
Lorigal, son of the sorcerer Eliavres, was born under extraordinary circumstances. His mother was a mare. According to the First Continuation of Chrétien’s Perceval (c. 1200), Eliavres was forced to copulate with the mare after King Caradoc of Nantes discovered him sleeping with Caradoc’s wife.
Over 800 years after the Perceval Continuations were composed, no illustration of Lorigal exists. This absence presents an opportunity to include the first visual representation of the character in my Supergolden Series. The supergolden metallic mean consists of three degrees of self-similarity; accordingly, I am including three degrees of domestic turpitude in the series, with Lorigal as the first.
The Eye of Hypnos is a recurring motif in my work, serving as a symbol of metaphysical dormancy. This painting depicts Lorigal as having fallen asleep because he has defined himself by the unfortunate circumstances of his birth. Although the anonymous author of the legend likely intended for Lorigal to present as human, I depict him as a farm animal. This choice functions as a symbol of self-limitation; a self-inflicted reduction of his agency.