She is your mother. Your grandmother. Your sister. Your daughter. She is mother nature. The mountain that cannot be moved. The plant that cannot be held back. She is the start. Where everything begins. She is the provider and the nurturer. The creator herself in all her strength and glory.

She is a mother. And mother's like her cannot be contained. 

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My practice is a celebration of feminine strength in spite of the fact that 'it's a man's world'. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, I've witnessed my mother oppressed by male dominance, and beaten down by the consequences. However, women are powerful. It's in our genetics. We give life. In holding on to this, we can overcome trials and regain control. My mother did just this. This installation tells not only her story, but the story of women everywhere. 

This work focuses on the concept of a domesticated woman's dreams of getting away from it all. Images of tropical plants, warm sunrises and colourful scenery are seen through window frames and stained into dishcloths with fruits and vegetables. Everything on the walls is contained within harsh lines. In contrast to this, the floor standing sculptures break away from the confines of the boxxy space. They are the relics of a patriarchal wall broken down on 'Path's of Glory', a journeywalked by awakened women. They are the building blocks of a new perspective. 

I partly took inspiration from interior design blogs, showing images of geometric, masculine rooms, cold in their ultra-modern bare aesthetic. Stark white walls reminiscent of asylums cover the pages of the websites. I wanted the harsh lines of these interiors to define the way in which the installation is viewed. The shapes dictate the direction your gaze folllows, with the illusionistic effect that the angles form (creating a room within a room) emphasizing the idea of being trapped within the confines of walls.

Multiple pieces incorporate appropriated iconography, from the adidas mountain logo (an icon of strength), to images from 'The Simpsons' (an example of a dysfunctional nuclear family held together by a mother figure). Inspiration came from Patrick Caulfield's ability to seamlessly combine appropriated imagery and multiple styles within his paintings. As well as appropriating pop iconography, Philip Colbert, Fashion Designer and Artist, also pushes the boundaries of what painting is. By creating his works with sequins, Colbert blurs the line of distinction between his multiple practices.

To the furthest extent possible, materials used were either found in skips or could be sourced from within a home. It's important to me that both the source and physical materials reflect the ideas within the works themselves. Being from a working class background, I try to keep a 'make lemonade with the lemons life throws you' attitude, choosing to recycle found fragments rather than custom build frames. Barry Schwabsky argues in Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting, that painting is no longer concerned with problem solving, rather its problem is to find ways to do something other than solve a problem. My paintings are not so much concerned with traditional mark making or percieved technical skill, but rather experimenting with expanded painting: questioning what painting is, and what it can become. 

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