Handle with Care

In a fresh take on the Cinderella story, ‘Handle with Care’, Cinderella is no longer reliant on a fairy godmother or prince. Instead, she is her own saviour. The composition features a mirror image of the heroine as she helps herself. She is engaging with her inner dialogue. The mirror image symbolizes her self-reliance and inner strength.

In the centre of the painting is a glass slipper which hovers just above her hand. I've always been fascinated with Cinderella's glass slipper. Can you think of anything more impractical? A beautiful but brittle covering for her precious feet that are her only means of escape. Cinderella was literally walking on glass. It suggests ideas of fragility and delicacy, which are often associated with femininity. These two images of Cinderella stand on either side of the slipper as if they are discussing it. Here, the glass slipper becomes a symbol for her own destiny, one that she holds in her hands (rather than on her feet!). It is something that is precious and worthy of protection.

The background was screen printed with acrylic paint and the figures were painted over the top in oil. The layers of pattern that have been transposed from discarded textiles such as tablecloths and bedspreads, via the screen-printing process. Women traditionally made such textiles and they were often gifted to a woman on her wedding day. The textured surface provides a decorative backdrop for reimagining this classical female character.
The painting has been professionally framed in raw oak and is ready to hang.

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I'm a Melbourne artist making art about people, identity and relationships. I draw on my experience as a woman and a mother, and as a result, most of my work is about womanhood. I am a passionate advocate of women’s issues and gender equality.

I have an interest in patterns and lines and include them in nearly all my work. My attraction to patterns comes from my love of order (I'm also an accountant), but I mostly like the flat, decorative element it adds. Sometimes the material inspires the subject, but more often than not, I seek out a particular look, colour or pattern to go with the concept I have in mind. Including patterns is a way of adding another dimension to the work.

In 2020, I won the Unearthed Prize by Art to Art gallery in Balwyn. I've been exhibiting since 2012, when I held my first solo show. Prizes for which I have been shortlisted include the 2025 Omnia Prize, 2019 Footscray Art Prize, the 2018 Contemporary Art Prize, the 2016 Hornsby Prize, the 2016 She competition, the Lethbridge 10000 Small-Scale Art Prize, the 2013 Agendo Award and the 2011 Metro Award.  Early in my career, I won the 2013 Yen magazine Female Artist award and won 2 prizes at the Albert Park College Art Show. My artwork is in private collections worldwide and is part of the Standard Chartered Bank art collection, Albert Park College public collection, and the Image Mundi project.