In early Slavic mythology, Vesna was a goddess who represented youth and the arrival of spring. She was especially revered in places like Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Slovenia, where she and her male counterpart, Vesnik, played a central role in springtime rituals in rural communities.

Here, Vesna is reimagined as the embodiment of death, her skeletal form blooming with delicate wildflowers. This piece brings to life a piece of forgotten Slavic history—the goddess herself. The halo around her symbolizes the myths that have come to replace her over time, while the goat head ties the image back to ancient Roman influences and the nature deities that once flourished in this region.

The myth of Apollo and Daphne is a story full of passion, conflict, and transformation. It all begins with a rivalry between Apollo, the sun god, and Eros, the god of love. Eros shoots two arrows—one to spark love, the other to extinguish it. Apollo is struck by the arrow that ignites passion, while Daphne is hit by the one that suppresses it.

Daphne, the daughter of the river god Peneus, is devoted to the wildness of the forest and the ways of Artemis. She desires to remain untouched by love, even though her beauty draws suitors. No matter how much she wishes to stay free, she can’t escape their pursuit.

When Apollo falls under the spell of Eros’s arrow, he becomes infatuated with Daphne. He chases after her, despite her rejection, but no matter how fast he runs, she evades him. She begs her father for help, and in a desperate act to escape, she begins to transform. Her body turns to bark, her arms become branches, and her legs sink into the earth, becoming roots.

Even in her new form, Apollo's obsession doesn’t fade. Though she has rejected him, he vows to honor her forever. He uses her evergreen leaves and wood for his crown, bow, and lyre.

Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of funerary practices and protector of the dead, is often depicted as a jackal or as a man with the head of a jackal.

In the Early Dynastic period and Old Kingdom, Anubis held a leading role as the ruler of the dead, but over time, his prominence was overtaken by Osiris. Anubis was believed to have invented the art of embalming, which he first used on the body of Osiris.

To the ancient Egyptians, the decay of the body meant the soul’s disappearance—being forgotten was their greatest fear. To protect against this, they turned to Anubis, praying for the preservation of their physical form after death. Despite his association with embalming, this god is depicted here as a skeletal figure, alluding to the fact that he himself is not immune to the eventual clutch of death.

The inclusion of the ankh in Anubis’s hand creates a powerful contrast: it represents life, while his skeletal form points to the inevitable decay of the body.