The Ecstasy Collection

The Spirit of Ecstasy

The work initially represents the juxtaposition of how one feels when enjoying the effects of taking Ecstasy compared with how one appears from the outside. The figure represents the state of floating in an out-of-body experience, eyes closed. The purity of the internal love felt represented by the white dress and long, angelic fair hair.

However, the pose also tells a darker story as the figure emulates Hamlet’s ‘Ophelia’, from the eponymous painting by Sir John Everrett Millais, “incapable of her own distress” who drowns, unaware of her surroundings, “her garments, heavy with their drink, / Pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious lay”.

Background:

‘The Spirit of Ecstasy’ is a collaboration with the British artist and sculptor Schoony and the model and actress Cara Delevingne. The artwork featured on the cover of The London Evening Standard valued at £1 million.