the glance

1000mm x 1000mm pyrography on 16mm plywood

Finalist – Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize 2020

I chose this pose of Ruth as I felt it personifies her acceptance of life’s meaning. Emerging from the canvas like coming out from a dense fog – which is a term depressed people often use to describe their experience. She seems remote as if distancing herself from the audience, not looking directly at life but providing an aside glance.