Daedalus' Son

Daedalus’ Son is a five-plate drypoint etching The central plate shows feathers tumbling from the sky. Below four smaller plates depict other aspects of the tale. While the image of Icarus is widely recognized, its connections to the Labyrinth and the role of Daedalus are less often explored. This work is part of a series that re-examines these myths with Daedalus as the central figure.

This print is the second in a series exploring moments from the life of Daedalus, the Greek inventor and craftsman. Greek myths often focus on dramatic figures like the Minotaur or Icarus, but Daedalus is the connecting thread in many of these stories. This series shifts the focus onto him—his role, his inventions, and the consequences of his creations. Each of the three prints in the series tells a different episode from his life, recasting him as the central character rather than a supporting figure.

All five plates in Daedalus’ Son are printed together in a single pass on Somerset off-white satin paper. The composition—one main image accompanied by four narrative panels—draws inspiration from traditional altarpieces, where a central scene is often surrounded by smaller depictions of related events. This allows the artwork to function as both a singular visual statement and a narrative sequence, engaging with the storytelling traditions of both mythology and religious art.

The Maze

Daedalus built a maze to contain the Minotaur. He later advised Ariadne to give Theseus a ball of thread to find his way out of the maze. Theseus vanquished the Minotaur, escaped with the help of the thread and ran off with Adrienne.

The Tower

King Minos was furious that Daedalus helped Theseus and Ariadne and that the couple eloped. King Minos imprisoned Daedalus with his son. In some legends, they are imprisoned in the maze, in others, they are held in a tower.  

Beeswax

As an inventor, Daedalus set to work and gathered feathers, twine and beeswax and built two pairs of wings that would  allow father and son to escape from the tower.  

The Sun

Daedalus and his son, Icarus, made their escape from Crete and flew away over the Aegean Sea. As they become confident they had escaped, Icarus flew ever closer to the sun, ignoring his father’s warning. The sun melted the beeswax and the feathers on his wings started to drift away. Icarus plunged to his watery grave.