by Yinsey Wang and Hajnalka Berényi-Kiss of Heroines & Muses

Model: Yinsey Wang @tornandpolished
Make-up: Jennifer Brillante @brijance.makeupartist
Hair and make-up: Nina Willenpart @stylingsbynina, @shadesbynina
Retouching assistant: Julia Lomaka @julia_lomaka_retoucher
Photographer/Creative Direction/Post-production and retouching: Hajnalka Berényi-Kiss @heroinesandmuses

In Renaissance-era portrayals of women, it’s not uncommon to see femmes fatales dominated by the male gaze, imposing antiquated stereotypes of what a woman should be. Men’s paintings of female bodies often incorporate the seductive elements of Venus and other characters from myth and legend, or on the other end of the spectrum, we find portraits of modest, dutiful wives and well- behaved daughters educated in the domestic arts. The Heroines & Muses project has set out to subvert these tropes and focus on the agency of the female figures we’ve chosen to depict.

The Renaissance Is Female series draws on myth, legend, and history to echo and amplify the original concept of an era of rebirth. We use soft, ethereal lighting; subtle transitions; and atmospheric effects to give the images a painterly feel. In the images on pages 87 and 88, we pay homage to the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend, popular from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and beyond. In some tales, she’s the guardian and bestower of Excalibur, the legendary sword that King Arthur wields in battle. Our images portray her as a protagonist in her own right, not merely a side character to Arthur. Here she’s a formidable warrior endowed with mystical wisdom, her strength anchored in deep contemplation. Our goal is to highlight her pivotal role in Arthurian legend—and build on her own legend as well.

The image above features our fictional empress in Qing dynasty attire, her power and royalty symbolized by the traditional color yellow. Chinese tales often depict ambitious concubines ascending to dominance through seduction, as happens in many tales of ancient and traditional narratives. To add depth to this character, the team portrayed her as a strategist and scholar, challenging stereotypes of docile, nubile courtesans and obedient wives to emperors and tropes of “women going above their station.” During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), there was a fascinating influx of Western ideas and trade through increased contact with other cultures. The Qing rulers were challenged on their ability to deal with encroaching Western imperialism but also on questions of how to strike a balance between preserving Confucian culture and embracing modernity.

The late Qing period also saw a woman rise to supreme power: Empress Dowager Cixi, a former concubine, who ran the government from 1861 until her death in 1908. She was a controversial figure in China; the historical record shows a wide range of stereotypes attached to her reign and how often she was blamed for the downfall of the dynasty.

We want to reinvent what we see as the Renaissance, take our own interpretation and bring a rebirth to the term itself, one that centers the agency of women. Let’s usher in a Renaissance that is female!

ELIZABETH EBSWORTH PHOTOGRAPHY

Her oath unbroken, sacrifice unspoken,
She hails the coming of winter.
The rule was golden, the summer beholden,
Until the green began to redden and crisp.
Barren the earth will become,
And so she returns, like the sun to the horizon,
To a hearth set in the earth,
Her sword raised one last time.
With a steed so black, her hair bright as a coal—
Will her story resound as she sheathes her sword
And abandons this world for the next?
Or shall the untold tale be lost in seasons to come?

Our photo shoot draws on the themes of autumn and the contrasts it brings. Autumn in literature is often a symbol of transition and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. We wanted to tell the story of a queen who has done her best to rule skillfully and fairly … but now it’s her time to make way for a new ruler. Nothing is eternal except the cycle of the seasons—including the seasons we experience in this life and the next and the passing of the crown to another.

To tell this story, we chose the colors gold and red, strongly associated with the changing of the seasons. With autumn comes the radiance of golden and fiery colors, but at the same time these colors foretell the arrival of winter and the hibernation that follows.

Here, now, is one last chance at splendor.

With the harrowing knowledge that winter will soon envelop the land, our queen looks to her past achievements and the burdens she has carried. She’s done her best. She has planted the seeds of her principles—fairness, equality, justice. Now she entrusts her future to the spring.

She takes her leave, riding her black horse to the afterlife.

Yinsey Wang is an occasional self-portrait artist, model, writer, and costumer. Although she is a full-time lawyer, she loves getting creative when she can. Find her on Instagram @tornandpolished.

Find photographer Elizabeth Ebsworth at elizabethebsworthphotography.com.

Photography by Yinsey Wang

Circe, the daughter of the Titan Helios and the ocean nymph Perse, is a goddess and enchantress in the ancient Greek mythical tradition who has a bad habit of turning her enemies into animals. She also is a master of potions and herbs.

One of her best known associations is with the hero of Homer’s epic tale The Odyssey. As Odysseus and his seafaring companions try to find their way home after the long Trojan War, they end up landing on the island of Aeaea, Circe’s domain. She punishes the crew’s trespass by transforming many of them into swine. Odysseus is the exception. His intelligence and charming tongue fascinate Circe so much that she is convinced to spare the rest of his men and returns them to human form. She also decides to make Odysseus her lover; she will so fascinate him that he forgets his longing to return home to Ithaca. After a year, Odysseus realizes he must continue his journey back to his island kingdom and leaves Circe.

It is quite commonly accepted that women who are arbiters of their own fate and who channel power through their own agency are often linked with witchcraft and magic, and hence become a danger to men. Circe is primarily seen as a seductress and an episodic challenge for the great hero Odysseus in the Greek epic cycle, an obstacle to overcome before he accomplishes his main goal. In the Victorian period, she becomes a popular art subject to demonstrate the power of the femme fatale (the morally questionable woman who lures men away from goodness).

I wanted to explore Circe’s identity in my self-portraiture—to explore Circe’s complex emotions and the power she herself wields. I am looking through her eyes, rather than taking the stories told about her at face value, where she’s so often reduced to a lustful witch looking to exact vengeance.

Creativity brings life an endless array of possibilities. Many of us find solace in fairy tales and fantasy as ways to escape from the confines of the everyday; such worlds can form the basis of new dreamscapes, beginnings, and self-discovery. They can even inspire change and influence our actual lived experiences.

But what if the narratives that dominate these stories in the mainstream do not represent the diversity of the world we live in today? What if in searching for a relatable protagonist, many of us find ourselves sidelined, unseen? The lack of media representation can have a knock-on effect for viewers—particularly younger audiences—and work against their self-esteem. After all, media can shape attitudes toward others and have an impact on how we see ourselves. Despite increased roles for diverse cast members in such works as Shadow and Bone, Shang-Chi, Bridgerton, and others, representation continues to fall behind. A 2021 Bloomberg article reports that more than 90 percent of respondents in the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment survey said representation is inadequate, both onscreen and behind the scenes.

We, the women behind Enchanted Asian Day, wanted to do a small part in filling the void. We were moved by the amazing achievements of Black Fae Day, which showcases magical Black creators and holds a celebratory day inviting submissions for the second Saturday of May every year under the hashtag #BlackFaeDay. Its purpose, in the words of founder Jasmine La Fleur, is “to uplift and include dark-skinned individuals in the realm of fantasy. Black people have imagined themselves larger than life too.” This powerful message resonated with us—and it blossomed into an idea that we could do something for our community as well. This was fueled by our desire to take action after witnessing the rise in anti-East and Southeast Asian attacks around the globe in connection with coronavirus-fueled prejudice. In a way, creativity can be a form of resistance—resisting hate. With Enchanted Asian Day, we created a movement that invites Asian creators to breathe life into their own universes, find power in their own voices, and develop community among each other.

Through this movement, we celebrate those with ancestry from the Asian continent in the world of fantasy, encouraging established and new creators to share their own stories through their art. Enchanted Asian Day is held on the second Saturday of every June. We hope you’ll join us!