This, my new body of work, has been born(e) of my own experience of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood; coupled with the intense search for self-identity that resulted from moving away from my land of birth.

How do women really experience the process of becoming mothers and or being female? Is there really a specific set of words and narrative/figurative images that can express the universal experience of women? Constant contradictions plague our minds. Feelings of immense joy and incredible isolation merge with wonder at our bodies' power to give or disappoint.

We might pour out an endless list of words coloured with tears and laughter without ever feeling that we have adequately expressed this thing we all know we share a deep knowledge of. Women are powerful and fertile even when they bleed. For me this speaks of a poignant connection with nature and her cycles. This series of paintings seeks to create a visual language that explores the places where the ebb and flow of our emotions and bodies touch and merge with the ever (un) changing spiral of natural life.

A place that creates a strong vibration with our emotions can spark a powerful process of exploring memories and inner responses.

When nature is abstracted to form symbols of the subconscious, the resulting images have the potential to impart meaning universally. Nature can be seen and experienced in many ways. I do not wish to represent it as a camera or naturalistic painting would; but rather to give expression to a personal emotional response to my surroundings. For me this expression holds the exciting potential to communicate/facilitate experiencing our natural environment and our selves in a new, inspirational and heightened way.

Achieved through the conscious analysis of spontaneous subconscious material, my work method echoes this process, which is closely related to the Jungian concept of the process of individuation. If we can allow the free ebb and flow of our most powerful feelings and expressions; whether they be jubilant or dark; we truthfully embrace a multi-faceted psyche whose different components always strive towards full individuation and unity. This can enrich our lives greatly. This is why I feel strongly that art and artists have a prominent role to play in addressing issues surrounding a dispassionate consumerist world culture.