Visibility and Narrative

Visibility and Narrative - Jane, Oil on Canvas, 60x90cm, 2026

This painting depicts my dear friend Jane in her studio, surrounded by her own paintings and the plastic dolls that often appear within her work. We met during our MA at UAL Camberwell and have remained close ever since, united by a shared commitment to exploring themes of women, representation, intersectional feminism, and narrative. Jane has had a profound impact on my practice; encouraging reflection and reinforcing the importance of image-making. She is my anchor in the unpredictability of the art world, always helping me regain perspective after setbacks and reminding me of the value in the work we do in depicting women and their stories.

My interest in women artists stems from a search for a kind of blueprint, a way of understanding how they have sustained creative practices while navigating the complexities of their lives. I often find myself questioning how women negotiate the inner conflicts that arise through making, and how they reconcile the often-selfish demands of being an artist.

This painting forms part of an ongoing series, Women’s Work, in which I explore the spaces women create and inhabit. These works emphasise the importance of carving out “a room of one’s own.” Here, Jane is shown in her South London studio, surrounded by her work, with dolls lining the floor and one of her paintings visible in the background. I rarely depict my subjects smiling; more often, they meet the viewer’s gaze directly, confronting it. With Jane, however, I wanted to capture a sense of her warmth and glamour. Immersed in colour and movement, she embodies the power of making art that centres women who have been historically overlooked.

Ultimately, this painting is an homage not only to Jane, but to powerful older women more broadly, those so often ignored or sidelined. Through this work, I wanted to

assert her presence and significance: to make clear that she is someone worth

looking at, noticing, and acknowledging.

Explore more from this series Women's Work at https://lnkd.in/eFbDSBtd