COMMISSION — ‘Dyani’.

“Serious, cutthroat and catty.” - Description of ‘Dyani’, by the client.

Dyani, meaning ‘little deer’, is a femme fatale, no-nonsense character from the late 1800s. Her heritage is both Romani and the Jena Band of Choctaw, a Native American denomination. I leaned into both of these cultures for reference when coming up with the patterns on her clothing, and the designs for her jewellery. The feathers in her hair are hawk feathers, which are significant through all denominations of Native American culture. Specifically with Choctaw, they are usually reserved for men, with female garments being adorned with turkey feathers instead. However, given the archetype of Dyani’s character, and her strong feminine independence, the client requested her to have two hawk feathers.

The client wanted the piece to have Dyani holding a deer, and through finding a suitable reference, that led me to a lot of paintings of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ holding lambs. Lambs are known for their sacrificial imagery, but through Christian paintings, it is said to signify Christ both suffering and triumphant. I am not religious myself, but I find the use of biblical or religious imagery through art, especially Pre-Raphaelite art, to be fascinating. It is easy to see the inspiration taken and used in this piece.