Medusa with the Head of Perseus is a sculpture created by Luciano Garbati in 2008. The work reimagines Italian Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini’s 16th-century sculpture "Perseus with the Head of Medusa", which is on display in the Piazza Della Signoria in Florence, Italy.
“I always had this particular version of Cellini in my mind. And reading about the myths, I felt that it would be interesting to depict the myth from Medusa’s point of view,” Garbati told at the opening event. Constructing his sculpture in contrast to Cellini’s, Garbati asks the question: “How can a triumph be possible if you are defeating a victim?” Medusa was the victim of sexual violence, but instead of achieving justice, she was banished and punished for the crime that was inflicted on her. “Rape brings shame to a woman first, and to a family,” said Bek Anderson, the founder of MWTH, during an interview in New York. “Women used to be murdered for being raped because they were no longer valuable as an asset. And we’re still living with that guilt, with that shame.”
"Medusa was not always a monster but a victim of Neptune, who persecuted her and raped her in the temple of Athena. Athena refused to punish Neptune for his assault and instead accuses and punishes Medusa -the victim.She cursed Medusa with a head of hair made of snakes and a gaze with the power to turn everyone into stone. Medusa was finally hunted and killed by Perseus. The sculpture in which Medusa holds Perseus head was on display at the entrance to the New York Criminal Court. The place chosen was not accidental, since there they judge cases for crimes related to violence against women." - said Nina, the member of the board at The Gallery ONE.