The Blasphemous Art Project

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom and war and the namesake of the famed intellectual center of western civilization, Athens. Many of the most famous ancient Greek philosophers were citizens of Athens, and this city of genius and creativity gave birth to revolutionary ideas that went on to compete against religious faith for power and influence.

These ideas and methods were reintroduced to Europe via Arabic translations of once lost ideas. This reintroduction brought about the Renaissance, and eventually the Age of Enlightenment. The defanging of religion throughout the Renaissance created the space for better ideas to flourish. The repurposing of religious imagery and mythology to celebrate ancient ideas from antiquity brought back to life the superior methodologies to obtain knowledge over faith and revelation. Under the guise of promoting religion, concepts like empiricism, sex, and love were celebrated through artistic reinterpretation at the expense of religious values. From there, the Age of Enlightenment was the natural progression that had been held back by religion for hundreds of years. Like the Renaissance, we aim to defang religion through art by secularizing its myths and traditions. We celebrate myth as myth and not as revelations from God. We put our own spin on myths and have fun with these stories in ways no religion can.

In the arid dunes of 7th century Arabia, a humble shepherd who was destined to become the Prophet Muhammad tended his flock under the relentless desert sun. One scorching day, a mysterious sandstorm uncovered the entrance to an ancient, hidden cave. Driven by curiosity and whispers of folklore, Muhammad ventured inside and stumbled upon a feared and fabled fallen angel named Iblis. Contrary to legends, Iblis's eyes held not malice, but a deep loneliness that resonated with Muhammad. The two spent hours in conversation, and it wasn't long before Muhammad saw past Iblis's satanic exterior and into his misunderstood soul. The jinn shared tales of his eternal solitude, forced to exist as a misunderstood symbol of evil. A peculiar affection grew between them, transcending the boundaries of human and demon. Their love was a secret bond, defying both earthly understanding and celestial rules, yet it flourished in the hidden recesses of the desert, an oasis of empathy and connection in a world that would never understand.

The crimson pomegranate blossoms danced on the celestial breeze as Persephone, goddess of the underworld and vegetation, wandered the divine gardens, her heart aching with loneliness. Though queen of the underworld, she yearned for a companion to share her immortal life. Her elegant footsteps stilled when her eyes met those of the exquisite Sita, avatar of Lakshmi and devoted wife of Rama the prince of Ayodhya, whose radiant beauty and courage had become legend across the mortal and immortal realms. In that moment, the bonds of circumstance fell away and their souls intertwined like vines ascending towards the sun. Sita's gentle smile, a beacon of unconditional love and strength, awakened a smoldering desire in Persephone, ruler of the dead, that sprang forth fully-formed, as if crafted by Aphrodite herself. With a tender caress, their lips met and the universe around them shuddered with the passion of a love transcending the boundaries of myth and mortality.

Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter, wandered aimlessly through the lush fields of asphodel in the Underworld, attempting to find solace in the beauty of the meadows she was forced to reside in for half the year. But her heart felt as cold and empty as the sunless realm she was confined to. That is, until a brilliant light pierced through the gloom, and a radiant figure appeared before her - Sita, the virtuous wife of Rama and princess of Ayodhya exiled from her kingdom, the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic the Ramayana. Their eyes met, and in that instant, the fragrance of rebirth seemed to bloom all around them. Sita's warmth and inner light captivated Persephone. Though they hailed from realms worlds apart, an unbreakable bond blossomed between the two women who knew the pain of separation and exile all too well. United in their suffering yet strengthened by their resilience, their love defied the boundaries of life and death itself.

In a realm where time and divinity intertwine, Persephone, the Greek Goddess of Spring, roamed the barren fields of the underworld, her touch awakening whispers of life in the eternal darkness. Across the veil of realities, Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Time and Destruction, danced the cosmic dance of creation and dissolution, her feet stirring the very foundations of the universe. Their souls, though born of different pantheons, echoed a shared longing for balance between light and shadow, life and death. By a twist of fate, or perhaps the playful meddling of destiny, their paths crossed at the confluence of their respective worlds, where the underworld kissed the edge of cosmic oblivion. The moment their eyes met, a love as deep as Persephone's underworld and as fierce as Kali's battle cry blossomed, defying the laws of their natures. Together, they wove a tapestry of existence where death became a prelude to rebirth, and destruction paved the way for creation, heralding an age where their love became the fulcrum upon which the balance of the universe rested.

In the arid dunes of 7th century Arabia, a humble shepherd who was destined to become the Prophet Muhammad tended his flock under the relentless desert sun. One scorching day, a mysterious sandstorm uncovered the entrance to an ancient, hidden cave. Driven by curiosity and whispers of folklore, Muhammad ventured inside and stumbled upon a feared and fabled fallen angel named Iblis. Contrary to legends, Iblis's eyes held not malice, but a deep loneliness that resonated with Muhammad. The two spent hours in conversation, and it wasn't long before Muhammad saw past Iblis's satanic exterior and into his misunderstood soul. The jinn shared tales of his eternal solitude, forced to exist as a misunderstood symbol of evil. A peculiar affection grew between them, transcending the boundaries of human and demon. Their love was a secret bond, defying both earthly understanding and celestial rules, yet it flourished in the hidden recesses of the desert, an oasis of empathy and connection in a world that would never understand.