What Happens at the Edge of Eden?

Encounter at the Edge of Eden

Encounter at the Edge of Eden remains ambiguous as we observe a group of herons (known as a “siege” of herons) and the Book of Genesis’ first woman. The painting considers that very moment of response to the unexpected… and if the unexpected is a powerful force?
Fight, Flight or Freeze - How is a person wired? How is “the first person” created? How much have we evolved in all of this time?

The image does not acknowledge biblical ideas of right and wrong, but instead focusses on the internal workings of the animal we are, especially in our relationship with the rest of the natural world.
The herons surround her, shrinking the space as they stretch, extending wings and necks. Her surprise and vulnerability shows in her contorted back, to which is pointed a very solid beak, touched by dawn’s light. This is a situation that offers the possibility for two very opposing outcomes. Only the viewer can decide and that depends on how that individual is wired.