“Femme forte” (French for “strong woman”) historically refers to a seventeenth-century artistic and literary trope in France depicting heroic women from history and scripture – Judith, Lucretia and others – as embodiments of moral fortitude, virtue and courage.
While creating this exhibition, I searched for encouraging female figures in both distant history and our recent local past. I searched for them to remind myself that absolutely anything is possible.
The being in this painting is held in a deep crouch, gathering force. Her layered, spiralling torso is composed of dazzling sunrises and sunsets, of delicate lights and soft twilights – the full spectrum of the sun’s path. She compresses herself only to rise higher, ready to spring upward and unfurl her radiant potential.
Technique: Ink and Egg Tempera on paper
Dimensions: 100 × 120 cm
Year: 2026
