Olga Sankey

Seeing red: plague 2023
digital/relief prints on paper; edition 3/6
Courtesy of the artist

Artist statement:

Seeing red: plague is a boxed folio of prints inspired by the ten Old Testament plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians by the god of the Israelites, as described in the Book of Exodus. The digital prints were created using largely hand-drawn elements, which were then manipulated and layered in Photoshop. My aim has been to create images which intimate rather than illustrate.

The continuing resonance of biblical/mythological stories is due in part to their translatability into other contexts, so that while each of the prints in this folio is a response to a specific plague, the title of each alludes to a contemporary issue that begs our attention.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt were not simply threats that went unheeded by the Pharaoh, but a series of avoidable natural disasters. Seeing red: plague is also about the risks of inaction in the face of climate change.