✺ “​​She was a prism through which sadness could be divided into its infinite spectrum.”  —Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer
 
Through different cultures, from east to west, there has been a strangely enduring appeal to the afflicted woman—especially the young, beautiful, afflicted woman. We’ve seen her portrayed on screen, in paintings, literature and other arts, using the full range of the emotion of sorrow, going from the childish, petty, retributory and angry-sad, to reaching crying-in-public levels of vulnerability. 
 
Why is the woman one of society’s favourite tragic victims? How is she so often made a vessel in our appetite for pain? Does the sad woman narrative dwarf that of the strong woman—the one who simply gets through each day despite everything that the world throws her way? —the woman who also shows up for other people, being vast enough to recognise how their spirits are also weighed?
 
This print titled ‘Sad Missy’  was created using a character by the Lankan comic art legend Bandula Harischandra. Missy came alive in the work 'Bēbaddā' (trans. The drunk) by Bandula. She is very much the tragic heroine that we see in countless stories. We got special permission from Bandula to recolour and recreate her in large prints because we find Sad Missy to be a great conversation starter and an art piece that triggers some very important questions about the narrative of the tragic beauty.