David Laity
Dream of the Fisherman's Wife 2003
oil on hessian on board
95.0 x 150.0 cm

Dream of the Fisherman's Wife is adapted from an early Japanese woodcut titled Dancing With Katsushika Hokusai. The original woodcut, smaller than A4 was printed over 200 years ago.

Dream of the Fisherman's Wife departs from the flirty, sensual imagery evident in David's other paintings, and moves into confronting erotic mythology.

"I have been aware of this image for years and loved it. I always thought that life-size it would be so powerful. In the mode of Pop Art I wanted to re-make this image in my style.

"I love that this image brings the historic tradition of sexually explicit art into contemporary Australian life, bridging a tradition of erotic painting across centuries and cultures.

"It's a wonderful wild image."