DEITIES, HEROES, VILLAINS,
AND SAINTS
In this series, I am looking at the human propensity to imagine or create, fear or
admire, worship or condemn larger-than-life entities, whether in the shape of other humans, animals, spirits, or magical hybrids.
These characters often embody exaggerated versions of human qualities - admirable or reprehensible - and may inspire communal unity or war; great acts of courage or crippling fear.
I am intrigued by our fascination with these personae, who can serve as cautionary tales as often as positive role models.
With these "Deities, Heroes, Villains, and Saints," I am investigating our tendency to project ourselves onto them, or to be influenced, even controlled, by our beliefs about them.
Kathryn Dunlevie
Disappointed by the lack of mud in Ballona Creek... handmade collage of digital pigment prints on wood panel. 21.75" x 16.5" 2025
Greek goddess of strife, discord, and war. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 21" x 27.75" 2025
Akan goddess of fertility, love, procreation, peace, and truth. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2022
The victimized young woman who escaped her family with the help of her Fairy Godmother. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 39" x 47.5" 2015
Patron saint of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) on wood panel 39" x 53" 2015
The Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted, possibly wrongly, of being a spy for Germany during WWI. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 26" x 27" 2013
Roman goddess of protection, often accompanied by snakes. archival pigment print on panel (from a handmade collage) 37" x 45" 2013
archival pigment print on panel (from a handmade collage) 17" x 10" 2025
The Green One, a Sufi mystic. archival pigment print on panel (from a handmade collage) 22" x 20.5" 2015
Wife of Orpheus, who tried and failed to rescue her from Hades. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2024
Feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology symbolizing chaos, rage, sexuality, and the shadow side. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2021
Self-decapitated Hindu goddess of contradictions. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 35.5" x 22" 2025
The blind Theben prophet of Apollo who spent seven years as a woman. archival pigment print on panel (from a hand-made collage) (study: 21" x 14.75") 2024
Founder of a Kabul Sufi dance troupe who was eventually forced to leave Afghanistan. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 12" x 12" 2023
Ancient Canaanite Mother Goddess who walked on water. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2021
The naiad Salmacis who prayed that she and her lover would become one. archival pigment print on wood panel. (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2022
The Oracle of Delphi, high priestess of the Temple of Apollo, who delivered prophesies while in a trance. archival pigment print on wood panel 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2025
The tragic heroine of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" archival pigment print on wood panel. (from a hand-made collage) 44.5" x 29.25" 2014
The Spartan Queen seduced by Zeus, who had taken the form of a swan. archival pigment print on panel 2025
A nymph who was pursued by Apollo against her will and, for her safety, was transformed into a laurel tree by her River God father. collage on vintage album cover 12.5" x 12.5" 2019
The Carites: Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thalia, in whom beauty was deified in ancient Greece. collage on vintage album cover 12.5" x 12.5" 2018
Mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 2025
Wife of Hades and goddess of the harvest. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2024
Cupid the son of Venus and Mars, and the god of love and desire. collage on vintage album cover 12.5" x 12.5" 2018
Perhaps the most glamorous of all the girlfriends of the Time Lord Dr. Who. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 50.75" x 33" 2015
Roman goddess of the dawn. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2021
The first human woman, created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus, Pandora released all the evils of humanity. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 27" x 27" 2021
