Male order bride- by Karen Chappelow 49x90cm Cast your mind back to the beginnings of human civilisation – the Paleolithic period. Up to 50000 years ago, female deities were worshipped in most cultures. The Goddess was creator, bringer of life, healer, inventor, hunter and leader. She was revered and valued. However, by approximately 1500 BC, goddess-worshipping societies had virtually disappeared. Patriarchal religions and patrilineal customs took hold and our matriarchal history was all but obliterated. Monotheistic Judaism, Christianity and Islam replaced matriarchal polytheism, along with hegemonic notions of God, King, Priest and Father. All other deities became ‘pagan’; She became a subordinate and a chattel. My piece depicts the female deity sacrificed/crucified on the torture device that was popular at the time of the new religion, and ripping herself free from the shackles that bind her and society