“A Visit to the Sister”

This painting depicts the moment when the Mesopotamian goddess of love and power, Inanna, stands before Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld. The confrontation follows the death of Ereshkigal’s husband, Gugalanna, whose killing is linked to Inanna’s actions against the hero Gilgamesh.

Seeking to attend Gugalanna’s funeral, Inanna descends into the underworld and passes through seven gates. At each gate, she is stripped of a garment and symbol of authority until she arrives naked and powerless before the throne.

To her right stands the vizier Namtar, who in the myth unleashes sixty diseases upon Inanna. In my interpretation, these forces take the form of hovering micro-drones carrying invisible contagions, merging ancient Mesopotamian mythology with futuristic imagery.

Ereshkigal’s feathered dress and luminous wings are inspired by ancient descriptions of the underworld’s inhabitants, who are said to wear garments of feathers.