EROS AND THANATOS

Rosina Godwin

“The aim of all life is death”

Sigmund Freud (1920)

In Greek mythology Eros is the god of love, Aphrodite’s mischievous son who interferes in the

lives of mortals to create illicit bonds; while Thanatos is the personification of death - peaceful, albeit

merciless and indiscriminate.

However, in Sigmund Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920), Eros refers to life and Thanatos to

death. Freud believed that humans have an unconscious desire to return to a state of non-existence, to avoid inherent suffering of life.

Anything Goes (2006)Fabric and found objects

This body of work subverts the homely associations of textiles, to create duplicitous pieces which trick the

viewer. The work contrasts innocence with iniquity, as flies and other metaphors of death are concealed amongst the colourful patterns and embroidery.

Death I (2007)Textiles, felt, thread and found objects

Death II (2009)Textiles, thread and found objects

Death III (2009)Textiles, thread

and found objects

The theme is developed further by playing with the normally naive persona of toys and combining

sweets into ambiguous objects. 

The work takes inspiration from Sigmund Freud’s essay The Uncanny (1919); where the canny

implies something that is homely and friendly, while the uncanny denotes a strange object or

experience.

Left to RightTeddy, Doll I, Doll II and Panda (2008)Found objects, sweets, latex and modroc

Inner Self I (2008)Felt, thread, latex and modroc

Inner Self II (2008)Felt, thread, sweets, wax and found objects

Inner Self III (2008)Textiles, Felt, thread, and

found objects

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 All images and text ©Rosina Godwin 2014