installation and artwork on the infamous Elizabeth Bathory 2004
artist statement
In 1610, a Hungarian countess was arrested for toruring to death countless female servants. She was locked up, left to die, not to be spoken of again in public. However much was said behind closed doors and from this grew the legend of Countess Dracula who bathed in the blood of 650 women to stay young.
This legend was the first thing told to me when I first discovered my Hungarian background. Intrigued I set out to learn more. What I did discover that there was alot more to the story and ironically the actual bathing in blood didn't really seem to come up in any historical documentation!
Elizabeth Bathory (pron. Baa-tory) was an extremely powerful woman owning large portions of Hungary and the country itself at this time was under constant threat facing invasion and political unrest. It was very common in such brutal times for nobilty touse torture not only as a means of punishment, but also as a simple legal means of interrogation.
Medicine of the time was also quite barbaric and bore not much differences to actual torture practices. With all this in mind, it is easy to see that in the Countess' mind she had done no wrong. (even if she were guilty). Other members of the Nobility had much to gain from her demise.
For me, this was a fascinating snippet of history as there were so many conflicting stories on what actually occurred and why. Was she a bored noble turned psychotic killer? Was it all torture or were some barbaric treatments for various ailments? Was she committing such crimes because she was in league with the devil? Or was she a victim to political power struggles amongst the nobility?
In 2002 I went to Cachtice in what is now modern day Slovakia, to see the infamous castle in which she was locked up to die. It was such an amazing place in quite a remote location and it was then I decided to do an exhibition inspired by the legend of this Countess and my trip to her castle.
When I returned to Melbourne, I met the members of Vardos and became their bass player for some time. Quite coincidently they had been working on a film about the very same theme and so we decided to put the two events together! The exhibition and installation being the foyer area you went through to come and view the movie Entertaining Countess Dracula, a silent black and white film, accompanied musically by the band.
Images above ; banners from the Entertaining Countess Dracula installation by Melinda McCarthy
The Installation
For those who came to see the movie, I created a space for them to walk through first which explored the different sides to the Countess' story and gave the audience a bit of background to this character.
Using sound, found object, painting and photography, the aim was to create a sinister realm in which the line between truth and legend was blurred. Presenting all angles to the story and leaving the audience to decide. After all, even if she were not guilty of the legend that has built uparound her, the very brutal deeds of the time are still hard to reconcile in the modern mind.
Medicines or potions? from installation by
Melinda McCarthy 2004
The Artworks
Bench with torturous items laid out in installation by Melinda McCarthy 2004
Ex Arce Nobis
(in defense of ourselves)
51cm x 91.5cm acrylic/oil
Melinda McCarthy 2004
Thyestean Banquet
(they knew not what they were eating)
24cm x 33cm acrylic/oil
Melinda McCarthy 2004
Protection of the Black Hen
24cm x 33cm acrylic/oil
Melinda McCarthy 2004
Oh Little Cloud
56cm x 52cm acrylic/oil Melinda McCarthy 2004
In the paintings, I tried to illustrate different parts of the story as told in letters from the countess herself and between other people of the time pertaining to her (as translated in the book : Countess Dracula, Life And Times of Elisabeth Bathory, The Blood Countess, by Tony Thorne). In Ex Arce Nobis she stares out coldly while a letter from her tells of her strength against Nobles who are trying to take her land by force, seeing her as the defenceless widow. In Oh little Cloud, we see a woman praying to the clouds to protect the Countess, as described in a letter from Ponikenus, a priest who claimed her involvement with witchcraft. The other three paintings also being based on this letter as the priest fearfully describes what he belives to be going on in quite fanciful detail. (This is a highly recommended book for those who want to know more about this legend in a historical sense.
The photos are of the castle itself and were taken with slide and crossprocessed to create the eerie purple and red effects.
Ponikenus
30cm x 40cm arcylic/oil
Melinda McCarthy 2004
photo 1 
photo 3
photo2photo1 Cachtice Castle print from cross-processed slide 1.5m x 1m 2002
photo2 The Valley of the Countess print from cross-processed slide 1.5m x 1m 2002
photo3 The Bloody Tower print from cross-processed slide 1m x 1.5m 2002
Other photos of the castle may be seen in photography section of site. Photos may be purchased in smaller sizes, for information please contact artist.
For information on the movie Entertaining Countess Dracula
check out the Vardos website : www.vardos.com.au