Here in this liminal land reaching out between two tidal rivers and one volatile sea. We pray to the Goddess of Fortune and Fate for a prosperous catch for the people of Wirral – Blindfolded Tyche the daughter of Oceanus; waters will change with the sun on your face. We who cannot claim the forest or cityscape, eat the bog myrtle and fight for our place. We will make our own luck, on this coastline in flux, where the knight Gawain looked and saw none by God loved, but our now must come. We will rise up, my love. Tyche is home.
I began making Tyche after I found out that I had been awarded funding from the Wirral Borough of Culture for this project. I was so happy and grateful but also felt a little sad for all the other amazing artists and projects that did not have the same fortune – having been there myself a number of times. I began thinking about fortune and fate and the notion of luck.
Tyche is the ancient Greek goddess associated with fortune, prosperity and chance. Here, Tyche, daughter of Oceanus, stands in a state that represents the forces of nature, chance and destiny. She can determine the fortunes of both individuals and places.
My version of Tyche is connected with the fates and fortunes of both myself and of the Wirral Peninsula. The Wirral exists as a liminal land surrounded by two tidal rivers and the sea, a symbolic space of transition and change. Tyche is a goddess who operates in the realm of uncertainty and flux, determining the fate of those who live on this ever-shifting coastline.
She is adorned with a mural crown of the Wirral skyline that emphasises her divine status and she holds a cornucopia, a symbol of abundance and prosperity, from which bog myrtle, the shrub for which the Wirral is named, flows alongside jewels and gold.
Tyche is blindfolded, representing the impartial and unpredictable nature of fate. Her blindness is not a deficiency but a symbol of the randomness with which fortune is distributed. Tyche alludes to the ever-changing nature of fortune itself, just as the tides and the sun move through their natural cycles.
Tyche stands upon a repurposed clock box, the inside of which is adorned with historical texts regarding the Wirral including the Doomsday Book. Inside the box is a tiny wooden spinning wheel which represents the wheel of fortune, a reminder of the ever-changing nature of fate and luck.
Tyche reflects humanity’s complex relationship with fate. Though we may be subject to the whims of fortune, we are also imbued with the power to rise, to adapt and to create our own paths.
Tyche’s homecoming signifies a return to a place of acceptance and recognition of the dual forces: fortune as both gift and challenge.
