Durga – Digital Invocation – 1998

Artist: Martine Jacobs Medium: Early digital composition Theme: Divine femininity, cultural fusion, spiritual resistance

Description:

In 1998, Martine Jacobs created one of her earliest digital artworks — a visionary portrait of the goddess Durga, rendered not with brush or ink, but through the emerging tools of digital media. Against a vibrant backdrop of Indian Hindu shawls, the goddess sits in meditative power, her blue skin glowing, her third eye open, and her sitar-like instrument resting gently in her hands.

This composition fuses sacred iconography with surreal abstraction: psychedelic patterns swirl behind her, and script-like textures rise like mountains beneath her feet. The shawls, rich in cultural memory, become both textile and terrain — a layered homage to spiritual heritage and feminine strength.

Durga, in Martine’s vision, is not distant. She is intimate, protective, and quietly fierce. The work channels both reverence and rebellion — a digital invocation of compassion, courage, and transformation.

Created at a time when digital art was still a frontier, this piece stands as a testament to Martine’s pioneering spirit and her deep engagement with cross-cultural symbolism.