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Oracles and Phantasms of Caitlin McCarthy
Caitlin McCarthy is one of the artists whose prints I have the most of in my home. They are eminently frameable, hangable, and delightful. I love her goddess series, which renders feminine deities and figures of folklore from across the world in concise and whimsical portraits. Her drawings also feature characters from horror films, Gothic authors, and Spiritualists. As McCarthy states on her Website, she is fascinated by “Victorian sensibilities and the occult,” and her work portrays “visions of dark dreamy women in the form of seers, mystics, goddesses, and witches.”
McCarthy’s graphite illustrations have an eerie and ethereal feel, sometimes dark, sometimes darling. I like the radiance that comes across in some of her monochromatic works, the sense of an otherworldly glow, and a certain wispy quality, being able to see the strokes of the pencil. The ribbons of ectoplasm that curl out, seance-style, from some of the entranced figures, are also appealing to me. These women’s eyes often appear blind but perhaps gifted with an inner sight. Amidst lit candles floating in midair, in their pointed hats, veils, and headdresses, they dream on in their melancholy bliss.
