These watercolours began with semi-abstract figures set within imagined landscapes, loosely inspired by the compositions of Fragonard, Titian, and Boucher. Over time, the work expanded to include narratives drawn from vintage erotic photography, contemporary manga, queer imagery, and performative figures observed from life. These paintings reference the constrained, often uncomfortable poses historically imposed on women by male directors—echoes of fashion modelling and early erotic tableaux—highlighting the tension between subject, spectator, and agency.
The imagery has evolved into more fantastical characters, drawing influence from erotic surrealist writings and environments reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. Painterly fruits, flowers, and printed ginkgo leaves contribute to a dreamlike world in which feline figures hide, distorted and playful—some with inverted bodies—licking, winking, and entangled in their own theatrical scenes.
The paint’s viscosity and translucent layers generate their own rhythms through flicks of vibrant colour, alluding to garden-like settings without relying on literal botanical detail. These works merge figuration and abstraction, creating a fluid interplay between subject and environment. This performative quality invites viewers to question the authenticity and intention of the images, opening a space for reflection on the gaze and the power structures it sustains.
At Trickster Girls, Vestry Street 2025. Photos by Gabrielle Cooper.