Perpetual Spring
The double portrait Perpetual Spring (2016) began life as a nude man and woman. Eileen Cooper later returned to the painting and transformed the figures into a pair of androgynous-looking women. The figures dominate the composition, and their relationship to one another – combative yet intensely connected – is reflected in the nature of the landscape.
The figures are clearly differentiated from one another by their dresses, with the woman on the left adorning a transparent white gown and the woman on the right more fully covered in a long-sleeved dress. Yet, the differences are complemented with similarities, or entanglements, contributing to the overall question of whether the women are engaged in a dance, embrace, or struggle. Different postures belie the similarity of their facial features and hair, along with other suggestions of contradictory states. The vegetation in the foreground is verdant and blooming, while the trees in the background look dead and brittle, almost taking on the appearance of human bones. The buds emerging on the branches suggest the fruitfulness of direct confrontation or engagement.
