This work is about the push pull position of women’s bodies; the institutional and traditional restraints and proposed freedoms placed upon them. The grid, emblematic of 20^th century modernism is distorted into the form of a female torso and partial optical illusion. The image bulges and recesses to evoke the idea of back-and-forth movement, the swinging pendulum of freedom and oppression. At the time of making, I was thinking about the Roe V’s Wade US court ruling and similar debates that have occurred in Ireland and the UK. Materially I’ve worked symbolically using an ornate frame, lapis lazuli infused blue ink and gold pigment to reference the religious iconography of the Roman Catholic faith within which I grew up and at times I found enigmatic, particularly the virginal positioning of Mary. 

The title in neon, my desired epitaph - is she coming or going - refers to how confusing the female position can be. This phrase is also a wider reflection on time as a continuum, an increasingly relevant concept as we consider artificial intelligence and posthumanism. There is humorous intention in this work alongside simultaneous encouragement of the viewer to reflect on social and political structures.