Raft of Medusa

Scott Runion's steel line drawing, "Raft of Medusa," depicts a serene beach scene with a middle-aged couple enjoying a day at the beach. The title leads us to recognize its connection to the famous 1818-1819 painting by Théodore Géricault, "The Raft of the Medusa," which represents a tragic event where survivors of a shipwreck desperately clung to a makeshift raft, facing starvation, dehydration, and even cannibalism.

The couple sit on a beach towel resembling a raft suspended between a wall of water and empty void. The middle-aged suburban couple represents a specific archetype of the pursuit of a comfortable and secure life. Their location, suspended between the emptiness below and the churning darkness above, conveys a precarious balance between the present moment and the chaos that threatens to engulf them. The dark shadow cast by their legs underscores this tenuous equilibrium and supports the overall theme of vulnerability in the face of the unknown.

Created in 2023, Runion's "Raft of Medusa" comes in a context of growing global socio-political uncertainties such as the rising 21st-century fears around war, climate change, and economic crises that may have been influencing the general feeling of unease conveyed by this artwork.