Ride of the Valyrie
Ride of the Valkyrie (2006) resonates with an earlier series of work (1974–1989) by Roberta Booth in which she explored man’s relationship to machinery. The colour palette of silver, grey, and pale blue contrasts with the more vivid works characteristic of the artist. The resultant metallic environment with its impersonal geometry and gleaming smooth surfaces offer a machine counterpart to the organic forms of the sky behind.
Through this juxtaposition, Booth questions the danger of technology as a means to satisfy human life, and an anxiety about machines becoming the master of humanity. Mirrored surfaces invite us to re-evaluate our relationship to such technologies, posing the question as to where we draw the line between human and machine, whilst floating clouds stand for ascending souls.
The title of the work is taken from the second part of the Ring cycle by nineteenth-century composer Richard Wagner. The Valkyrie is part of the overall story told by these operas which warn us about the danger of greed.
