12 Labours of Heraklesi

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12 Labours of Heraclesi is a casein painting on a terracotta vessel.
The work is a contemporary reinterpretation of the myth of Hercules, replacing his heroic trials with a series of commissioned jobs undertaken in order to make art.

Each of the twelve labours becomes a figure for economic necessity, embodying the time and effort required to sustain an artistic practice. Like Hercules, the protagonist is subject to a force greater than herself. Here, that force is the economic order.

Not every task, however, is pure necessity. Some are driven out of curiosity, a desire to learn, or a need to engage with the world beyond the studio. These experiences can bring pleasure, connection, and a sense of fulfilment.

The amphora becomes a contemporary carrier of myth — a vessel for a story about work, time, and the cost of being an artist.

Some of the labours include:

• assisting with large-scale sgraffito commissions
• interning in an artist’s studio
• teaching visual arts to children
• pouring wine at exhibition openings
• posing as a model at an art academy
• babysitting
• cleaning Airbnb apartments
• renovating staircases and painting walls
• making murals and lettering for commercial and private spaces
• painting sets for television programmes
• working for an international corporation
• designing websites, apps, and graphic identities.

Together, the twelve labours form a portrait of the many lives an artist has to live in order to make art.