Jezebel

Adam Lee is known for his handling of thinned, watery pigments that describe slippery and numinous realms of intense mystery. Informed by a wide range of cross-cultural sources – from folklore, legend and biblical narratives to natural history, music, film and literature – his works on canvas and paper build elaborate and indefinable narratives, where allusive subjects merge with abstract shapes and rich blooms of colour.

This watercolour depicts a recuring motif in Lee’s work: a lumpish form marked by crude and barely distinguishable facial features, not unlike that of a Halloween pumpkin or a cartoon ghost. Lee calls these objects ‘crying stones’ – suggesting an absurd form of pareidolia, where faces are perceived in inanimate things. The title refers to the Biblical character Jezebel who famously worshipped Baal, an ancient Canaanite-Phoenician god of fertility and rain.

The ‘crying stone’ depicted here is split open at its top and foliage that resembles the Australian native banksia tree sprouts from its hollow peak. The image is open to varying interpretations – from a portrait of a fertility deity capable of germinating plant from stone to an oblique vase and banksia flower arrangement. The work also alludes to the unique way the banksia tree reproduces after fire, when its black seed pods crack open from the extreme heat.