My work explores the quiet negotiations women make every day in the pursuit of safety. It considers the normalising of vigilance that accompanies daily activities. 

The paintings emerged from conversations with friends and family about what makes them feel safe when walking alone at night or moving through unfamiliar spaces. What struck me was how every woman had a plan: a route considered in advance, objects carried to be used as protective weapons, a phone held ready, keys between fingers.  Women have been giving each other advice for years, alongside listening to the stories that have been told to justify the violence and abuse endured. 

My paintings invite viewers to sit with familiar scenes of walking, playing netball, resting and being outdoors in spaces where safety is never entirely assumed, but continually negotiated.

The work asks us to consider who is expected to carry the responsibility for safety, and what it means to live in a world where ordinary acts can never be completely free from calculation. Through these moments, I explore the invisible emotional and mental labour involved in simply moving through the world as a woman.

Opening night guest speaker - Dr Lauren Matthews

Catalogue