Historical information

This work pays homage to Solomon J. Solomon’s Ajax and Cassandra. Andrew Potter’s painting tells of the subsequent event.

Cassandra is undoubtedly a Trojan War casualty, symbolizing the personal pain of widows and rape victims. The flow of the fabric is the allegory of bloodshed, while the empty jar suggests displacement of refugees. Cassandra’s body, as mother earth, is a metaphor for the peaceful landscape that is desecrated by acts of war.

The artist uses these iconic figures to exemplify and demonstrate why peace is always better than war.

This work was awarded second prize in the 2009 Lucato Peace Prize. During that year Andrew Potter was undertaking the first year of a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Fine Arts) at the University of Ballarat’s Arts Academy.

This item was runner up in the Lucato Peace Prize, and is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 1000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.

Physical description

Painted canvas depicting a naked woman lying on the round beside a glass jar.