Five canvases, each 165 by 295 centimetres — taller than anyone who stands in front of them. Hung in sequence, they descend from the storm cloud to the face, the temple, the city and the dark.
All plates: anonymous hand, 2025. Select a plate to see it whole; arrow keys walk the cycle.
II AH-25-002
Oil and silver leaf on linen
The cycle's only close-up. The face fills the linen and lowers itself towards you; lightning runs out of the eyes and splits the skin like the craquelure of an old panel. Silver leaf lifts the sparks caught in the beard.
III AH-25-003
Oil on linen
He lifts off the steps of the Parthenon with the eagle above his head. In his right hand the bolt is no longer jagged: it is braided into a straight shaft, one more column for the temple behind him. The priests on the steps reach no higher than his sandal.
IV AH-25-004
Oil on linen
Built on two floors. Above the cloud deck the god sits crowned in silver armour; below lie a white temple city, a harbour and an army. His staff passes through the clouds and lands on earth as a shaft of light, exactly on the sanctuary.
V AH-25-005
Oil and gold leaf on linen
The last plate takes the god's face away. He is a silhouette on the mountain, and the only light in the sky is the bolt he holds. Below, a river of gold lightning runs between the spears; gold leaf is used for the river and the bolt alone.