This project reimagines mystical feminism through an interpretation of the Norse sea goddess Rán. She embodies nature’s dualities—life and death, creation and destruction. In contrast to my Wrestlerssculpture, Rán stands alone. Her connection to the sea echoes the mystical feminist view that we are inherently linked to nature and life’s cycles. As ruler of the ocean’s depths, Rán symbolizes facets of the feminine experience, particularly its spiritual and intuitive dimensions. Mystical feminism has inspired my interest in how women can embrace the unknown and pursue self-discovery. In a life filled with stress and expectations, could Rán help reconnect us with our spiritual potential?

Rán belongs to a group of feminist archetypes I’ve developed through my practice: The Wrestlers, The Hunters, Diadumene, and Rán. These sculptural figures act as avatars, waiting to be activated. Slowly shaped over years and through various media, they continue to evolve. I’m especially influenced by Merlin Stone’s When God Was a Woman (1976), which traces how patriarchal religions erased feminine symbols and deities. Her research reveals how matriarchal belief systems—once centered on goddesses, fertility, and cyclical time—were replaced by monotheistic structures that demonized female power.

This historical shift continues to shape my work, as I explore what was lost—and what might be reclaimed.

As recently as the 19th century, the female body was regarded as a mysterious and potentially dangerous place. The so-called “arch of hysteria” — the extreme backward bending of the body — was interpreted as a sign of female irrationality, anxiety, and even demonic possession. Neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot used this posture in his famous demonstrations of hysteria, helping to cement the image of the female body as something both uncontrollable and deeply enigmatic. And then, of course, there’s the entire history of the witch hunts, where women were demonized — though that dates back much further and traces its roots even deeper in time.

To me, this connects with how the major world religions have, over centuries, repressed and downplayed the feminine divine power. What had once been revered as sacred and generative was slowly rewritten as frailty, transgression, or threat.

In 1993, Louise Bourgeois addressed this bodily form in her sculpture Arch of Hysteria. By portraying the posture in a headless, genderless male body, she highlighted the historical constructions of gender and broke with the old association between hysteria and femininity. Her work became a counter-image to centuries of fear surrounding female power.

Long before I began working with sculpture, I had explored this bodily posture in my paintings. It has been a recurring motif in my practice — a form that continues to fascinate me because of its complex symbolism and charged history.

In my interpretation of Rán, I carry this historical fear with me — not to repeat it, but to transform it. Rán becomes a manifestation of that primal force which was once demonized, but now emerges as a figure of autonomy and deep interconnectedness.

After Rán first emerged as a bronze sculpture last year, her journey has expanded into the digital realm. I am now working with her through film, drawing, painting, blockchain, wool, 3D printing, sound, and as an augmented reality sculpture. She is a portal, a symbol, and a question — still unfolding.

Grey Spider Rán, 2025
3 x 3 Rán sculptures on triangle podiums, each 13 x 10 x 4,5 cm, 3D printed raw grey sculptures in HP MJF PA12 

Grey Spider Rán, 2025
3 x 3 Rán sculptures on triangle podiums, each 13 x 10 x 4,5 cm, 3D printed raw grey sculptures in HP MJF PA12