
Vik Muniz São Paulo, Brazil, b. 1961
Further images
Apollo and the Cumaean Sibyl (2007) by Vik Muniz is a reinterpretation of Giovanni Domenico Cerrini’s painting from 1640–1649.
Cerrini’s work embodies the legend of the Cumaean Sibyl, an ancient Roman prophetess famed for her ability to foresee the future. Her story, one of many woven into Ovid’s Metamorphoses, tells of Apollo’s love for the Sibyl. Enamored by her beauty, the god offered to grant her any wish in exchange for her affection. She scooped up a handful of sand and asked to live as many years as the grains in her palm. But after she rejected Apollo’s love, he allowed her body to wither away, for she had failed to ask for eternal youth. Over the centuries, she shrank, growing ever smaller with age, and in the end, only her voice remained.
Exhibitions
Vik Muniz. Moscow House of Photography. Nov–Dec 2007Price of Oil. Gary Tatintsian Gallery. Jan 20–Apr 15, 2009
Vik Muniz. Gary Tatintsian Gallery. June–Oct 2018