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Friday, September 20, 2019

Sainte Apolline


Readying my present house for sale has advanced in fits and starts, but preparations have now resumed in earnest, with (dare I suggest it) the end in sight. 

Pictured above, transformation of the front door unfolds under the watchful eye of Saint Apollonia, patron saint of dentistry and toothache. This is oddly appropriate; ordinarily I’d rather have all my teeth pulled out than tackle house painting. Fortunately, Shane is a dab hand at wielding a brush, much more so than I am, and has a far healthier attitude. Between us, progress has been made, and even in its half-finished state, the door is vastly improved, as is the rest of the house.


Sainte Apolline is from a series of drawings I made in 1993 as part of an Australia Council residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Her primary emblem is a tooth held in a set of pincers, the instrument of her torture. Perhaps house painting isn’t so bad after all.