Never before have I seen such a sassy satyr. Or is he a minotaur? The devil? A man? The fantastical beast reclines in the undergrowth, propped up on one elbow, in a pose that’s vaguely reminiscent of the French girls painted by Édouard Manet in 19th-century Paris. A high heel-like hoof and matching horns dazzle in fluorescent pink, yellow and blue. A long, slender tail snakes up and around, its feathered tip flickering in the celestial light. He brings a flower stem to his lips, its leaves rubbing up against a vulva-shaped bloom. Only then do I notice the woman swinging on a golden vine tossing her head back with orgasmic abandon.
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Image: Chris Ofili, The Swing, 2020-2023
Oil and charcoal on linen
310 x200 cm
122 x 78 3/4 in
© Chris Ofili
Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
