Date with Hermes

Date with Hermes (2024) is a series of paintings, prints and animations that emerged from my extended consideration of the influence of Greek mythology on intellectual, psychic, and symbolic life. I began considering how Greek myths might inform an array of subjects during a residency at the Vorres Museum in Paiania, Greece in 2016. Surrounded by the lush grounds, ancient sculptures, and distinct architecture of the museum I began working on compositions that incorporated the elements around me into loose, visual narratives linking contemporary themes to members of the Greek Pantheon. For the ancients, mythology made sense of inexplicable natural phenomena and reinforced social order, but the Gods were not just powerful stories—they were a palpable, daily presence in people’s lives. This series explores the profound ways that perception is transformed by stories and reality is shaped by fictional worlds. 

Date with Hermes: Journeying Between Dreams and Reality extended this exploration and was exhibited at the Vorres Museum in June 2024. The diptych titled Date with Hermes: I’m on Fire (acrylic on canvas, 6 x 10 feet) was inspired by a recurring dream about a portal to my death in the antiquities wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was one of three grouped as follows, Date with Hermes, Entanglement (acrylic and oil on canvas, six panels, 26 x 12 feet) a polyptych that reimagined the myth of Dionysus and Ariadne, with the central panel capturing the pivotal moment of Ariadne’s deification—her transcendence from mortal to divine. The third grouping titled Hands for Fates, Icarus (acrylic and oil on canvas, 36 x 6 feet) a pentaptych, centered on the myth of Icarus. This grouping was expanded in 2025 to include a fifth panel. 

The exhibition included other media such as The Swan which explored alchemy as a metaphor for the light and dark aspects of self. This series was inspired by the many beautiful garden ornaments at the Garden Architecture store in Saskatoon.

Short animation Cats Cradle was inspired by the Greek myth of Ariadne’s journey from Crete to Naxos, served as a companion piece to the Entanglement grouping, connecting Ariadne’s transformation to The Fates. Exploring themes around determinism, the animation presents a re-occurring thread as a metaphor to suggest the possibility of order (The Fates) in disorder. This piece invites viewers to consider how they navigate their own inner labyrinths of identity and transformation.

“The Swan” printing was assisted by Alexis Fraser

“Cats Cradle”: Released 2024/5 Runtime: 9min, Genre: hand-drawn digital animation

Allyson Glenn (Director, Animation, Video Editing), Nazli Tabkhi Wayhan (Animation), Shelby Lund (Animation), Jordan Bidyk (Animation) David Sanscartier (Animation), Meerah Abesia (Animation), Jhamila Tayong (Animation), Kaleb Whittingstall (Animation)