Dante’s Inferno
Hell In A Handbag
For my Dante’s Inferno project, I created a Hell Tote bag. The bag is split into three colors: green, brown, and red. The bag’s shape gets smaller at the bottom than the top, mirroring how Dante describes hell’s shape. Three colors are used because Dante loves the number three, and 3 x 3 = 9, representing the nine layers of Hell. The first layer is green, representing the more human side of Hell. The brown represents the river Styx, and the mood changes to the gloomier depths of Hell. The dark red represents the gruesome punishment in the farthest depths of Hell and its darkness. There are three iron-on patches of a leopard, lion, and wolf. These animals relate to the different sins in Hell, Dante had to face. The bag is stitched together in a loose black stitching, representing the darkness that binds hell together. On the bottom and the sides are brown stitches representing the cross and Jesus’ trip through Hell. Inside the Bag are illegible quotes that represent the other sides of sinners’ stories that they did not tell. Finally, on the inside, a tag that says designed by God reminds us that God created Hell.