Natalie Dowse

Song of the Siren 2

Oil on canvas

The ‘Song of the Siren’ paintings are part of a series based, in part, on the notion of the Siren from Ancient Greek mythology. The Sirens use their exquisite song to lure sailors to wreck their ships on the rocks after falling in love with their beauty and song, and consequently taken to their death. They are also loosely inspired by the ‘Song to the Siren’ by Tim Buckley and then later This Mortal Coil. Painted from the viewpoint of someone immersed in the sea rather than from the safety of the shore, these paintings are both enticing and beautiful, yet laced, perhaps, with an unsettling menace that reminds us of the unpredictability and force of nature.