The tale of Io and Jove revolves around the beautiful priestess Io, who falls victim to the attention of Jove. When Jove falls in love with Io, he turns her into a white heifer, to hide his infatuation from his wife Hera. But Hera is not deceived, and demands the heifer as a gift before assigning the hundred-eyed giant, Argus, to guard over her. To rescue Io, Jove sends Mercury to kill Argus. Hera, in anger, sends a gadfly to torment Io, forcing her to wander the earth in cow form. When Io finally comes to rest in Egypt, Jove returns her to human form.
After the death of Argus, Hera used his eyes to decorate her peacock’s feathers in gratitude. Johnson recreates this imagery in both works, featuring peacock feathers that at times appear as watchful eyes. The artist captures flesh in transformation, a body caught in flux.

Despite the dark underlying theme of the myth, Johnson’s focus is far from illustrating the moment of violence that lies at the heart of the tale. Instead, the artist is captivated by the fog that Jove summoned to conceal his assault on Io from his wife. “The fog’s obscuring nature intrigues me - how it transforms the familiar into something uncertain.”