2006 - Sold

I am moved by the tragic story of Queen Nitocris. Although her reign left no archeological record, according to the ancient historians Manetho and Herodotus, Nitocris was the last pharaoh of the sixth dynasty in the Old Kingdom of Egypt. When her pharaoh brother Merenre was assassinated she took revenge by inviting his murderers to a banquet in a secret sealed palace chamber. In the midst of the party, she had the room flooded with the river Nile, choosing to drown along with his killers and have her vengeance.

I wanted to capture Nitocris in the moment before her death looking regal, beautiful and defiant as she gazed at her doomed guests. She waits for the floodgates to open to cross over into the underworld, knowing that her brother will be waiting for her.