The Unicorn - or- Escape from Captivity

Description

The unicorn is a symbol which encompasses many different concepts across equally as many contexts; it is a symbol of uniqueness, freedom, harmony, and power. It is a mythical creature, thus linking it to the realms of myth and paganism. Simultaneously, the unicorn is a symbol of the queer community, due to both its aforementioned symbolic meaning, and due to its mythical status, as there are those who would argue the existence of either.

My thesis work focuses on the symbolism of the unicorn as it appears in the Unicorn in Captivity tapestry, as viewed through a queer-pagan lens. The unicorn in the tapestry is depicted lying in a garden, tethered by a golden chain to a pomegranate tree, in an enclosure which would send animal rights activists into a rage. However, the chain is thin and could easily be broken, and the unicorn could clear the fence without hardly lifting a hoof. Yet it chooses to remain in the garden, in spite of its less-than-ideal situation; not only is the unicorn being held against its will, but the garden is full of plants and animals which symbolize cis-hetero-normative notions of fertility, and those which are known to have anti-venomous properties or which drive away serpents (snakes having long represented paganism, in which they represent ancient knowledge). Why, if escape would be so simple, does the unicorn remain in this garden?

In the previous tapestries in the Hunt of the Unicorn set, the unicorn is depicted being hunted by men with spears and dogs, finally being captured (and, possibly, killed). Though the garden is not an ideal habitat for the unicorn, it represents, to some degree, safety; at least here, the unicorn is no longer being hunted for its very nature. If the unicorn were to break free, the hunt would resume. Though it is imprisoned in the garden, it is safe. Though it is free in the wilderness, it is hunted. The unicorn chooses to suppress its own nature to preserve the illusion of safety granted to it by its compliance to the environment created by its captors.

Costuming and masks hold origin in pagan rites and rituals. A mask or a costume signifies transformation, be it transformation into something else or into oneself. My thesis work is a rite towards my ongoing metamorphosis into the truest version of myself. Through creating and wearing this mask, I choose my own freedom over a falsely perceived notion of safety.