Artist Statement 

My work explores the significance of the female body as icon.

My practice probes the politics of the representation of the female form. Gender, sexuality, vulnerability and power, seduction and aggression - these dualities motivate the dynamics of my work.

The paintings reference the political and the personal. The representation of females throughout history is considered alongside contemporary references. The Venus of Willendorf, Mary Magdalena, The Three Graces and Cardi B are some of my many muses.

The women I paint balance the grotesque and beautiful.  They are not naive to the history and male subjectivity they inherit. They claim their space to discover who they are on their own terms.

The paintings create their own symbol of female power and energy. This not only involves the subject and composition but also the attitude in which they are made. To me, the approach is just as important as the subject.

The substance of paint becomes an analogy for the body. Paint is used as a metaphor to create a skin of human experience, an idiosyncratic personality both hidden and exposed.

NW