Dáli - Limited Edition of 15 Print

"In the olden days, Georgians spoke of a mythical patron of hunters and animals, a pagan goddess of forests and mountains. Named Dáli, she was often depicted as a young woman of blinding beauty. A strong and independent spirit, she was responsible for maintaining a balanced and respectful relationship between hunters and their prey. She would keep the human appetite in check, only letting them take what they needed to eat and to feed their villages. Sometimes, an especially worthy hunter would even be rewarded with Dáli’s love, and in some cases—gifted with a magical artefact, enhancing his hunting skills. Those encounters would usually come with a bonding promise to keep them secret. Breaking such an oath would end with the hunter’s death. But after Christianity spread to Georgia, the role of the patron of hunting passed on to Saint George, the country’s heavenly protector. Unable to withstand the competition with a rival that strong, Dáli starts to be depicted as animal-like creature, a beast who posed great danger to man. All good in her is denied. This metamorphosis from spirit to animal—from goddess to monster—took place against the backdrop of the struggle between Paganism and Christianity in Georgia: an epic conflict between old gods and new Saints, between primeval feminine magic and male-dominated religion, Nature and the unchecked expansion of human ambition." It took me almost a year to prepare for the shoot, and a month to produce it: from designing the mask to scanning 4 x 5 film negatives.