Rugscape

Valerie Hird reimagines the iconic gesture of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam through a topographical lens in this sprawling watercolor diptych. The two monumental forms reach across the central divide, their bodies constructed not from flesh, but from intricate strata and geometric tessellations. Rendered in deep ochres, terra cottas, and lapis blues, the patterned surfaces draw on Hird’s engagement with the visual histories and cultural mythologies of the MENA region. By dissolving human anatomy into a landscape of translucent washes and scalloped borders, the painting maps her stated exploration of fluid time and overlapping narratives.