Masochistic Mantis

Oil on canvas, 61x76cm

Nothing quite sets the mood like the idea of being cannibalized in the heat of passion. While we’ll never know what the male mantis thinks as his head is devoured by his lady friend, it does raise the question: does he maybe enjoy it?

This painting is part of Monkey Business, an exhibition inspired by the diverse expressions of biological sex and sexual behaviour in the animal kingdom.