The Goddesses of the elements exemplify the central theme of our exhibition, Mother Nature – Power and Chaos, out of which ideas and artworks have grown. Each member of the Alchemist’s Needle has contributed complementary elements to the final group pieces which have been designed and compiled by Sarah Maddison. Our first Goddess represents water.
SEDNA – the Water Goddess
In the Innuit religion Sedna is the mother of the Sea – goddess of the ocean and marine mammals. Her symbols are water, an eye and fish.
As a mortal she refuses to marry the man her father had chosen. Furious he took her to sea and tried to throw her overboard for her disobedience. However, she held on tight and he chopped off her fingers, and she floated down to the bottom of the ocean. From her severed fingers the first Seals and Walruses were born, and now she keeps all marine animals safe in the tresses of her hair. She is often depicted with a mermaid’s tail, but she is not a Siren and never rebirths from the sea, preferring to stay beneath the waves.
She is worshipped by Inuit hunters and given offerings to ensure her good will and plentiful catches. She can show great compassion but has the power to create powerful, destructive storms if angered and she call the animals to her so that the people starve. Tales tell she can be soothed by combing her hair.
Here she is based on Shina Nova, a Canadian urban Inuk throat singer, campaigner and activist with over four million TikTok followers and a further two million on Instagram. She campaigns for the assimilation of Inuit children in schools and investigations into missing/murdered Inuit women.
Artists: Anne Hellyer, Janice Ballard, Mandy Dunning, Dee McElligott, Sarah Davis, Alison Young and Sarah Maddison
Price £495
The Alchemist's Needle 