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The way a part of the healing body is touched is important. Similarly the intent behind an application of paint affects the work. In this series I have painted from cropped and magnified images of my body. I am interested in how women’s bodies have been represented in art history and how this issue impacts standards of beauty and the way that women are treated. In particular the torso and thighs are places on the body that have historically been sites of idealisation and trauma. The series is different to art historical representations of the female nude through their treatment of surface and reference to touch. Similarly the intent behind an application of paint affects the work. An application of paint could include tender layerings, smooth caresses, and soft scumbling with the brush in order to build up a solid appearance of a body. All of these acts and the intent behind them influence representation of the female nude.

The series also explores connections between a personal ritual of swimming and a painting practice explored by the larger, ill, queer and female-identifying body. The painting series reflects on the way water adjusts to and flows against everything it surrounds, opening up space for all bodies entering it, regardless of their strength, size or mobility. By cropping the subject matter in these paintings, both body and water can potentially extend outside of the canvas to reflect on the meaning of taking up space. The works featuring the body have soft colour palettes that indicate subtle stretch marks, bruises and imperfections. Meanwhile, the water paintings have fluid brushstrokes, softly making references to the water within and around us, gently lapping at our forms with curiosity and supporting us. Water is both firm and forgiving in its relationship with a submerged body. The way one moves underwater affects the feedback and level of pressure that water brings back. The series acts as an ode to water’s acceptance and support of any body. It is also an exploration of growing past expectations, and what that would look like.