St Etheldreda

"Audrey" by Lizzie Ault
Drypoint etching on paper, artists proof. Caligo safewash ink on japanese kitakata paper

Audrey is another name for St Etheldreda. This year marked the 1350th anniversary of the founding of the first Abbey in Ely by St Etheldreda and the Fierce tales exhibition coincided with this anniversary so I felt obliged to include a piece that was my interpretation of her story.

Audrey inherited the Isle of Ely after her first husband died and she fled to Ely when her second husband went back on his agreement to respect her vow of chastity. On the journey she is said to have performed two miracles, one of which was to draw up water around herself as protection from the pursuit of her husband.

I depicted Audrey as a kind of mother figure for the city of Ely. I wanted her head and shoulders to form an island in the water, as if she is the land itself. I surrounded her with eels that form the ripples of water to represent both that miraculous event and her destiny to found the city upon the island of eels. The stars and moon in the sky also reflect that destiny that came about because of her dedication to her own beliefs rather than to comply with the wishes of her husband.