Medusa

This is a very original depiction of a well-known mythic figure infamous for monstrousness. It has become something of a cliche to depict the monstrous feminine as alluring femme fatale but this uses a minimalist approach to reinvigorate that aspect of the mythic figure whose gaze meant death by petrification. I can imagine the frozen look of the victims of this creature to be a disturbingly ambiguous combination of horror and wonder. What makes it work is the simple palette whose colors connote cold, ice, stone, grante, death, and mystery. Many have located her terrible power not so much in her horrid hair of writhing snakes but in her eyes. The obscuration of her eyes draws the viewer to where they should be. Any good booby trap provokes curiousity not suspicion. With the allure of the nude figure and the tiny, appealing lips and the come hither gesture regardless of the steely claws, this is a creature whose doom attracts rather than repels. It is mythic!