An Honourable Betrayal

This project is inspired by the characters and plot lines in An Honourable Betrayal.

The art works focus on three female characters in the book: Dr Rachel Cauvin, a former American trauma specialist now supporting the Houthi rebel cause in Yemen; Samirah Qasim, wife of Houthi high command leader Khalil Qasim. And Jenni Brodeur, a Paris-based journalist and wayfinder extraordinaire.

Each of the characters’ visual sources are drawn from three well-known paintings. These establish each character’s pictorial structure. Rachel’s art works draw on Nicholas Poussin’s Dance to the Music of Time (1634); Samirah draws on Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne (1524). Jenni’s images are inspired by Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun’s Self portrait with daughter, Julia (1789). Additional references come from R B Kitaj, Lubaina Himid, Dexter Dalwood and Herve Télemarque.

The images are ‘works in progress’ (standard size 50×50 cms). They combine drawing, pastels and acrylic on 220 gsm cartridge paper. The long-term aim is to re-present the conflicts and betrayals that lie at the heart of An Honourable Betrayal through a series of large-scale paintings.