Alicia Reyes McNamara @ Niru Ratnam

Alicia Reyes McNamara produced her recent series of paintings and works on paper, From Within, after researching Mexican and Irish mythology and in particular, the recurrence of water myths within those two discourses. McNamara was struck by how many times feminine goddesses were a central part of these myths, yet were largely presented as fallen figures, who had been punished or condemned for their hyper-sexuality or acts that defied the prevailing order.

Reyes McNamara’s works reclaims the subject-hood of these female figures in the mythologies of the two cultural backgrounds she grew up between, and presents them as agents in charge of their surroundings rather than fallen or mourned figures.