To Calabria. This painting is a reflection on the strength and resilience of the women of Calabria, inspired by my mother’s early life in southern Italy. As a young girl, she would walk from the village to the river to tend the olive groves, care for the land, and wash clothes before carrying the day’s work back home.
The short hair beneath the flowing green strands symbolises the masculine strength these women embodied through hardship and labour, while the cascading water, mountains, and steps speak to the many stages and emotional passages of life.
Through this work, I honour not only my mother, but the enduring spirit of the women whose lives were shaped by devotion, survival, and quiet dignity.