An explanation of the painting "Triumph".
My thought process behind the painting "Triumph"
Jennifer Wildermuth Reyes
9/7/20261 min read
This piece was started on January 7th, 2026, the day the Renee Good was murdered. When I heard the news yet but I was thinking about how the United States society felt so traumatic and horrible. There was a distinct undertone of what I would consider toxic masculinity through out the culture and but rather than dwell on that I wanted to put forward triumph femininity as an alternative, thus this portrait. This woman represents a thirty nine year old female of mixed race. The average age of a United States female and a combination of all races that are a part of our culture. The skull on her forward represents the death of masculine past. If you look closely you can see a few strands of orange hair still clinging to the bone. This is Memento Mori: Latin for "remember that you will die," the skull serves as a stark reminder that in times, all life, cultures, norms and ways of thinking will die and the current chaos of the United States is the swan song of an embolden racist and sexist culture coming to an end. The laurel leaves are a symbol of triumph of humanity while the white feathers that adorn her represent purity and renewal. These are trying times for sure but this is not the end of the story.