The Morrigan - Mixed Media On Wood - Image 2
The Morrigan - Mixed Media On Wood - Image 3
The Morrigan - Mixed Media On Wood - Image 4
The Morrigan - Mixed Media On Wood - Image 5
The Morrigan - Mixed Media On Wood - Image 6

The Morrigan – Mixed Media On Wood

The Morrigan by Robin Rivers is an original piece of mixed media collage on wood from The Female Gaze series. I created this piece using my own photography shot in northeastern and southern France as well as public domain archival images from NASA and The Met Open Archives. Other elements include acrylic paint and medium. 

Inquire about this piece HERE.

How I source and care for historical materials → Sources

Description

The Original

The Morrigan by Robin Rivers is an original piece of mixed media collage on wood from The Female Gaze Series. I created this piece using my own photography shot in southern and northeastern France. I also used public domain archival images from NASA and The Met Open Archives. Other elements include acrylic paint and medium. 

The piece measures 36×48″ (w/h) and is mounted on wood. Shipping will be calculated based on location.  Please note that colours and contrast vary between different monitors.  The colours may not match your monitor’s display exactly. Additionally, copyright of my artwork does not transfer with purchase.

The Inspiration for The Morrigan by Robin Rivers

Through The Female Gaze series, I explore cultural memory by reconstructing medieval patriarchal iconography through a feminine lens. Each piece transforms my contemporary photography—often combined with archival materials—into complex narratives that place women in positions of power. By layering the medieval stained glass form with photography shot across various locations in France, I create temporal dialogues that reframe the cultural narrative of women in history.
 
In The Morrigan, I wanted to reconstruct a medieval cathedral rose window replacing the traditional patriarchal iconography with the powerful goddess of fate from the Celtic tradition. I chose the middle figure, which I shot in 2019 at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, as the focus point. Horse saffrons from medieval Scotland and Poland encircle the Morrigan, punctuated by the lunar cycle. Layered in between are decaying winter leaves and the magical mondara flower. In the next layer you’ll find hazy pastoral scenes of spring and the mare that I shot with homemade filters and an overlay of stag skulls and horns from 19th century Scotland. Finally, the brick which encases the window comes from photos I took of cathedral walls in Paris.
 
 

Sources

  • Original photography from Robin Rivers shot in December 2024 near Orquevaux, France and March 2026 in Puyvert, France.
  • The Met Open Archives: Shaffron (Horse’s Head Defense); Dutch, 1620. (public domain)  Link to image. 
  • The Met Open Archives: Shaffron (Horse’s Head Defense). Belonging to an Armor for Field and Tournament Made for Duke Nikolaus “The Black” Radziwill (1515–1565). (public domain)  Link to Image.
  • The Met Open Archives: Stag Trophy Head, Killed by Ned Ross; Horatio Ross; British, born Scotland ca. 1858. (public domain) Link to image.
  •  Lunar Cycles. Eight images from NASA Image and Video Library (Public Domain) Link to Images.
  • Artist materials:
    • Acrylic paint,  acrylic matte medium

The Artist

Robin Rivers is an artist, photographer, and writer who creates from conversations with ancient ponds and old trees, spirits of place and old ones whose lost stories want to be told. As a mixed-media artist, Rivers works with original photography, museum archives, and storytelling to give form to the old ones who speak to her through dreams, deep listening, and walking the land in ancient places. Her practice weaves together mystical guidance and archival research, creating magical pieces that restore powerful lost connections and stories rising up once again. Robin creates all pieces at Studio Albertine in Vancouver, Canada—on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples. This includes the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Before you go, check out more of my work HERE.

Finally, be sure to follow me on SUBSTACK

Share your thoughts!

Let us know what you think...

Leave a Review Ask a Question Post a Video Post a Photo

What others are saying

There are no contributions yet.

×

Login

Continue as a Guest

Continue as a Guest

You may also like…

Related products