Available at Parnell Gallery here: https://www.parnellgallery.co.nz/artists/jane-crisp/jane-crisp-invoking-aphrodite/
 
All enquiries to Parnell Gallery art@parnellgallery.co.nz
 
Invoking Aphrodite 
Jane Crisp 2025
Acrylic on Canvas - framed
1420 x 1020 mm
$8,800

We carry our stories from the past, through generations and lifetimes, they are imprinted in our bodies, in our DNA, and they shape who we are today. Some of our stories broke us into pieces, but like with the art of Kintsugi, we can embrace and heal. We can use our stories as tools, healing generational trauma, become the best version of our selves, and in turn we heal humanity.

The Tui here represents the spirit of today, invoking the rise of the feminine goddess energy. 
Aphrodite and the Tui form the shape of a vessel, a chalice, like that of the Holy Grail, often associated with the quest for spiritual enlightenment and divine connection. Some say it resembles the feminine goddess, associated with nourishment and life-giving powers, a symbol of abundance, fertility, and the connection between the material and spiritual worlds, the Grail’s significance going as far back to early Celtic texts and folklore. The connections between the Grail and natural elements are Water: Often associated with purity and healing, water symbolizes the life-giving properties of the Grail, Fertility: The Grail is linked to the fertility of the land, representing abundance and prosperity, and Regeneration: The Grail embodies the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, reflecting the natural rhythms of the earth. This symbolism reinforces the idea that the Grail is not simply a physical object but a representation of deeper truths inherent in the world around us.

The rise of feminine consciousness is an awakening of power that is aligned with feminine energy or yin energy. This energy is intuitive, nurturing, soft, reflective, liquid, creative, artistic, innovative, entrepreneurial, intelligent, communicative, resourceful, compassionate, and organised.
The divine feminine is an energy also known as shakti, yin, and lunar energy, and is often connected symbolically to the moon, Gaia (Mother Earth), and water.

APHRODITE was the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. She was depicted as a beautiful woman often accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. In classical sculpture and fresco she was usually depicted nude.

THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS (depicted in the background: The Judgment of Paris, c1792. By John Flaxman (1755-1826), a story from Greek mythology.):
When Eris, goddess of strife, isn't invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the spiteful goddess tosses a golden apple into the crowd, with the words "to the fairest" written on it. This causes a big argument among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite over who is the most beautiful goddess. The job of beauty contest judge falls on Paris of Troy, who decides that Aphrodite is the fairest after she promises him the hand of Helen of Sparta. Unfortunately, Helen is the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, so when Paris makes off with his prize, the Trojan War quickly follows after.

KINTSUGI (golden repair) is the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — a metaphor for embracing your flaws and imperfections. “You won't realize your full potential until you go through the tough times”
The precious nature of the gold used to fuse pieces together signifies the strength, confidence and value we should put into repairing our own breaks. It is important that the method of repair in kintsugi is gold — strong, but beautiful at the same time, and most importantly, noticeable.