LILITH by artist Ulla Anobile

Paper mache, acrylics, mixed media
9" x 7" (14 1/2" with beaded strands)

Ulla created LILITH for the BAD GIRLS and Outcasts exhibit. The legend of bad girl Lilith has been a source of material in modern Western culture, literature, occultism, fantasy, and horror. This ‘night monster’ is associated with sexual temptation, storms, disease, illness, and death. She is thought to have been Adam’s first wife, who left him after she refused to become subservient to him.
Historically, the figure of Lilith first appeared in a class of wind and storm demons known as Lilitu, in Sumer, circa 3000 B.C.E. Corresponding versions of the demon were found in ancient Babylonian culture, eventually influencing the demonology of medieval Rabbinic Judaism. Lilith would become a part of Jewish lore as a “night demon” and was later adopted into Christianity as a "screech owl" in the King James version of the Bible.
Two primary characteristics are found in ancient and medieval legends about Lilith: first, she was seen as the incarnation of lust, causing men to be led astray, and, second, Lilith was viewed as a child-killing witch, who strangled helpless neonates. These two aspects of the Lilith legend seemed to have evolved separately, in there is hardly a tale where Lilith encompasses both roles. Children wore amulets to protect them from Lilith's harm.