I made this series in the Spring of 2020, when Covid-19 was just emerging. I remember being taken by the juxtaposition of so much death and decay at a time of year associated with life and rebirth and fecundity. In the second painting of this series, of the rotting woman, I was inspired by a (it turns out untrue) account of an Elizabeth Bathory method of torture, wherein she would supposedly tie up a naked girl outside in the spring, cover her in honey, and let the bugs eat at her until she died. Like I said, this turned out to be completely made up, but the idea of using Springtime as a weapon stuck with me and felt especially pertinent April of 2020.