Wyrd, 2025, watercolor, acrylic, paper, wood
40 x 24 inches
Manette Rene Bradford's Wyrd is in response to recent local political events and a direct interaction that made a singular impression. It can be difficult to gain a full view of the current historical moment while living inside of it, due to its enormity. Within the examination of her firsthand experience with events on a much smaller scale, Bradford finds echoes of broader themes of political and sociological phenomena. The word Wyrd is Old English, and roughly relates to the concept of fate or destiny. In this work, Bradford references the motif in European mythologies of the Fates, such as the Norns, the Moirai, and the Parcae, three oracular figures that shape the course of human destinies.