Michael Eade

Statement

EADE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE SERAPIS…

 

I found the visual inspiration for my hybrid creature The Serapis, in the Egypto-Helenistic god with three heads- a wolf's, a lion's and a dog's. The three heads signify the three parts of Time: facing left is the voracious wolf representing the vanished past; looking straight on into the present is the majestic lion; facing right is the hopefully sniffing dog anticipating the future.

 

This god originated as an Egyptian guardian of the under-world and was associated with the passage of time. The Greeks and the Romans absorbed the symbol into their cultures. Eventually, The Serapis was absorbed into Christianity as an allegory for morality and good judgement and a symbol of the Trinity. While by the 1600's The Serapis had been refined to a hieroglyph, still associated with the three parts of Time, it's iconography now signifying "good judgement" or "good counsel'.

 

I transformed The Serapis by creating a male and female within the mythical species- even though, they are based on a male dominated origin. By doing so, The Serapis is no longer a god, but a great hybrid creature existing with it's mate and thriving in my created world of fantastical landscapes.