Her

HER is a collection of nine oil paintings exploring beauty, femininity and the quiet power of choosing yourself.

Across the collection, women from different ethnicities are deliberately turned away from the viewer. Their faces are hidden or partially concealed, interrupting the expectation that a woman should always be available to be seen, understood or defined by others.

For Clarke, looking away began as an act of defiance, but became something more personal: an act of choosing herself. The paintings reflect on the experience of stepping away from external expectations and returning to a sense of self-worth, identity and independence.

The women are adorned with gold and botanical elements, symbols of abundance, beauty and possibility. Repeated floral motifs flow across the canvases and connect the works as a unified body. The motif also suggests infinity, a reminder of the enduring nature of the self beyond the roles, relationships and expectations placed upon us.

Through rich colour, delicate oil painting and considered composition, HER celebrates women across different backgrounds while questioning the narrow ideals through which beauty has traditionally been viewed.

At its heart, HER is not about being seen.

It is about knowing who you are, and choosing yourself.