Epistula Post Mortem is a carefully sealed letter which will remained unopened until my death. It holds a double-sided painting: the outside in oil paint, the inside in watercolour with a written message and poem. This is my response to the star Alphard, the heart in the throat of the Sea-snake Hydra, a monster from Greek mythology. 

I took part in the League of Stars program in Greece, 2025, and one my main revelations was that the creatures we know as beasts and monsters in mythology are quite often misunderstood. We know of Hydra’s story through the lens of Hercules, being the hero who would use her venomous blood against his enemies and eventually slay her.

However, in Arabic, Alphard means ‘the individual’ or ‘the solitary one’, because it’s the brightest star in that relatively dim part of the sky. Coincidentally, Hydra’s heart resides in just one of her many serpent heads, and this crucial organ holds her mortality. 

Isolating this one, mortal head from the other venomous and terrifying ones, Alphard reveals her true self. Speaking from the heart reveals one’s vulnerabilities, secrets and desires. When sensing a threat, it is only natural to want to lock these things away. 

My personal message reflects on the wants of my own life, and I have locked it away with a technique once used by Mary, Queen of Scots in her final letter. Knowing that she was condemned to death, she sealed this letter tightly using a complicated series of cuts and folds.