Artist's Statement:
 

The research of this body of work focuses on sites where clashing opinions can exist in response to the apparatus of systems of patriarchal oppression.

 

During my travels, I documented spaces where graffiti and stickers are placed – some are beautifully preserved, others are aggressively ripped or scratched into or faded. Frustrated social comment finds expression on street poles, park benches and public walls, as, in contrast to social media, a sense of anonymity can be retained. Reflecting on this bank of visual reference, my paintings use images to speak about the desire and relative inability of projecting one’s voice. In a society that is tightly watched and steered by hierarchical dominance and institutional norms, the artworks consider society’s repressed voices.

 

The curatorial call states that "... womxn’s lives rarely unfold in straight lines; they intersect and overlap, not bound by time, space or social context.” As I read articles written by diverse women, I am awed by their voices – particularly those who speak out and stand up against their abusers. I embed my history in the covert language of visual art. In Breathing Underwater (2026), the image of the octopus as a creature of adaptability poses an ambiguous image: on the one hand, I reflected on the survival of womxn as an amazingly intelligent 'species,' able to regenerate ourselves in often toxic environments. On the other hand, the octopus seems ominous with tentacles moving towards a young woman, armed with boxing gloves. As an image that refuses to be "broken down easily" (Haraway 2026), I also aim to create open stories. The image reverberates the tone of Harraway’s definition of tentacular thinking. These works are based on documentation found in the streets and are recontextualised to bring my own narrative into the frame. In this manner I wish to construct visual stories that connect with my own and others' lived experiences.

 

The challenge for society is to accept that we may differ in views; furthermore, that each voice offers a distinct value as a constructive contribution to form the varied nuances of life. Crenshaw’s writing on the layered bombardment of systemic judgments is apt, for each individual and each group face unique pressures. In the large charcoal drawing, I probe the complexity of being a woman by revisiting the archetypal myths of woman (Eve) and the snake. In rebellion against the male-authored narratives, I imagine a woman with powerful hands, strong and without fear or mystification. The drawing does not dictate the narrative; rather, it presents an ongoing process, searching in gestural marks for movement and change. The snake, a boa constrictor that suffocates its prey, is a symbol of both power and desire, of longing and agency. This is a narrative of resilience and the metaphoric 'will to be.' 

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* The title of my body of work, "Breathing Underwater," is a direct reference to Richard Rohr's "Breathing Under Water" (1989, 2010), which in its introductory pages refers to silent communication, shifting realities, and admitting to a dysfunctional world that is systemically flawed. 

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References:

Crenshaw, K. 1991. Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color, in Stanford Law Review, 43 (6), Jul:1241-1299.

Pérez-Lanzac, C. 2026. Interview with Donna Haraway, in El Pais (50). July 24.

Rohr, R. 1989. Breathing under water. New York: SPCK.