Lilith

To be alive is to know her. Embrace her. Merge with her.

Terrifying. Irresistible. Unfathomable.

For thousands of years we have been fascinated with depictions of the feminine. The feminine is desired, adored, feared, revered, repressed, and vanquished. The feminine has also suffered from long histories of suppression and expectation, from society and equally itself. Women have had to mask, distort, numb, and reject genuine emotion and identity to protect themselves from judgement. The independent, seductive, and emboldened side of the feminine who succumbs to lust has long been perceived as a threatening and hysterical force destined to suffer tragic consequences. A dangerous and disillusioned mistress created to tempt and test humanity. This dark, demonic, and destructive force is Lilith.

In mythology, Lilith was known as Adam’s first wife, before Eve. She refused to play the subservient role expected of her. Enraged, she grew wings and flew away from Eden. In Babylonian and Greek mythologies, she was the goddess of the dark moon and a murderess demoness that cast her malevolent spell onto humanity. Demonised for her own want to exist as her true self and explore the capacities and offerings of human nature, Lilith has come to represent an indulgent and defiant female figure. But what if the very part of Lilith that is condemned to be too vulgar to face, too scary to be given a voice, or too much to be allowed to surface is the very part that becomes her true self and greatest power?

This collection of photographs gives space to a female being that is allowed to show her truest nature. Unphased by the lens, the feminine figure is comfortable in her own world, with her own desires, embracing the poetic and sexy nuances of her own being. She is encouraged to be authentic and surface the Lilith spirit that lives deeply buried within each of us. Suppressed by the good girl, obedient wife, and timid daughter, ready to be unleashed, she comes out when we feel most free, fully embodied, and merged with our darkest shadow.

Lilith is the premiere of Rita Ince’s work. Her photographs reinvigorate the feminine being where woman’s greatest power is her truest, rawest, and most unembellished beauty, embracing not only beauty, but the beast that lives within.