Mary Longley

Bride
acrylic on paper
41 x 34.5 in.

My painting ‘Bride’ depicts a faceless woman in a white dress – she is almost like a mirage. She is like an apparition, there, but not not really there. The raven is ever present. The bride appears like an actress playing a part. It’s the part most women want to play. It’s the marriage that never materializes. The traditional promise of happiness that turns out to be a myth. She represents the overwhelming expectation and the inevitable disappointment that is carried in the idea of marriage.

© Mary Longley