Johanna

This work is a visual exploration of the legend of Pope Joan, who is said to have ascended to the Holy See in the 9th century as the learned John Anglicus.

The narrative of the woman who fought her way to the top of a purely male hierarchy through her knowledge, and was only exposed by the birth of a child during a procession, serves here as the foundation for a modern deconstruction.

Instead of portraying the figure historically, the composition uses a sacred austerity to address the tension between power and annihilation.

The striking red bar, which breaks the figure's face, functions as a direct symbol for the Damnatio memoriae – that systematic erasure from the ecclesiastical chronicles that Joan experienced after her discovery.

The luminous crimson of the geometry thus combines the clerical dignity of the office with the human physique that ultimately proved to be her downfall. Isolated on the white pedestal, Joan appears like a timeless statue emerging from the shadows of history. The almost floating gesture of her hand contrasts with the hard, architectural lines of the halo and illustrates the conflict between individual fate and the uncompromising dogma of the institution.

Thus, "Johanna" becomes a memorial to the truth that remains hidden behind the censures of the past.