I had a name, I have a name (2024) reimagines what happens to Lilith after she, according to myth, was banished from the Garden of Eden. 

In medieval Jewish tradition (Genesis 1:27), Lilith was Adam’s first wife, before Eve. However, Lilith refuses to comply with and obey Adam, instead asserting her equality to Adam. For this, she is demonized; forced to live like an eternal nocturnal animal (usually portrayed as an owl or snake).

By demonizing Lilith and (literally) replacing her with Eve, the Bible has created a particular image of ‘woman’ that still, to this day, informs gender stereotypes. Lilith remains the image of the ‘problematic woman’: the assertive, sensual woman who demands to be treated equally to man. In contrast, Eve stands as the ’proper woman’: the submissive, puritanical woman who accepts her second-class status to man. These contrasting mythological images keep reoccurring, shaping public discourse, especially pronounced in these years where neofascist movements (once again) attempt to regress society back to a time where women who embody Eve are celebrated, while women who resemble Lilith are hunted.

No generative AI software has been used to create the series. The series is shot on a Hasselblad X2D 100c with minor color adjustments carried out in post-production. To develop the series, I painted my body red and went to the forrest at night. Images of snakes and owls are carried out after agreement with breeders of rare animals. The series is supplemented by a first-person poem, developed on the basis of the myth of Lilith, that gives Lilith the voice she never had.