DEITIES, HEROES, VILLAINS,
AND SAINTS
In this series, I am looking at the human propensity to imagine or concoct, fear or
admire, worship or condemn larger-than-life entities, whether in the form 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. I am investigating and lamenting our tendency to be influenced, even controlled, by our beliefs about them.
Kathryn Dunlevie
Patron Saint of La Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia. Archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" 2021
The Greek God of fertility, madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. Hand-made collage of archival pigment prints on wood panel 16" x 20" 2026
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
Wife of Orpheus, who tried and failed to rescue her from Hades. archival pigment print (from a handmade collage) on wood panel 21" x 14.75" 2024
Patron Saint of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. archival pigment print on wood panel (from a hand-made collage) 39" x 53" 2015
Actress, activist, and philanthropist, she brought the spirit of London's 'Swinging Sixties' to Paris. collage of archival pigment prints on panel 17" x 10" 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
A 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
A Buddist Sky Walker, the embodiment of energy, wisdom, and the non-dual awareness of emptiness in Tantric Buddhism. archival pigment print (from a hand-made collage) 47" x 33" (study: 21" x 14.75") 2021
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 hand-made collage) 37" x 45" 2013
The Green One, a Sufi mystic. archival pigment print on panel (from a hand-made collage) 22" x 20.5" 2015
Feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology who symbolized 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. Collage of archival pigment prints on wood panel 16" x 12" 2025
Disappointed by the lack of mud, the wrestlers express their disapproval. Collage of archival pigment prints on wood panel 20" x 16" 2026
Founder of a Kabul Sufi dance troupe who was eventually forced to leave Afghanistan. Collage of archival pigment prints on wood panel 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
Greek goddess of strife, discord, and war. Collage of archival pigment prints on wood panel 12" x 16" 2025
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 dimensions variable 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 wood panel dimensions variable 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 of archival pigment prints 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 of vintage album covers 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) dimensions variable 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 of archival pigment prints on vintage album cover 12.5" x 12.5" 2018
Perhaps the most glamorous of all the girlfriends of the Time Lord, Doctor 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
