The portrait was originally based on Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and protectress of sailors. Whilst investigating my Italian heritage and questioning my fascination with ‘classical’ figurative sculpture I discovered many of the pieces I had seen in Italy and in British museums were roman copies. This lead me into asking why are ‘classics’ revered so highly, copied and repeated over centuries.

Looking into the origins of western literature and art I made some darker discoveries which leant towards the silencing of women. Though this process I deconstructed, cut apart and re-defined what ‘classical’ meant for me.