Jade Hejduk
College of Fine Arts, Studio Art (BFA)
Moral Injury
This painting reimagines the legend of Saint George and the Dragon through a female lens, transforming a traditionally male narrative of conquest into a personal meditation on belief, identity, and self-definition. Raised within a Christian household, I remain connected to the symbolic resonance of this story, the triumph over evil. I approach it not as a fixed doctrine, but as a myth open to reinterpretation and lived experience.
Through self-portraiture, I place myself within the role of both saint and witness. I enter the myth as an active participant, using my body as a site of inquiry and transformation. The dragon, rather than a literal beast, becomes an embodiment of illusion, beauty, prosperity, and power as seductive constructs that both shape and distort our sense of self. It is not simply an external adversary, but an internal presence, one that must be recognized, confronted, and understood.
By employing historical techniques such as grisaille underpainting and layered glazing, I engage in a dialogue with the traditions that have carried these myths across centuries. These methods allow the image to emerge gradually, echoing the slow process of revelation and self-awareness embedded within the narrative itself.
Artwork Description:
This painting is not about vanquishing the dragon outright, but about redefining what it means to face it. It becomes a space where inherited belief systems and personal agency intersect, where myth is reclaimed as a living, evolving language through which I seek my own truth.