Just as one might see a human face in the embers of a fire or imagines a face up in the clouds, I once imagined within a damaged piece of hardboard what I interpreted as being an androgynous face, caused by mold and water stains. With the aid of various crayons I began to draw out the suggested image; the proportions of the ensuing face may not be classic but the features would emerge of their own accord. Was this to be the face of a man from biblical times or maybe even that of the Virgin Mary; any way, the pencil marks evolved to suggest an Italian Renaissance type of drawing. The added 1970’s lapel badge of Leonardo da Vinci evinces this point.

Perchance, a damaged motor engine gasket was to hand, the proportions of which seemed to suit satisfactorily. Further rifling through my collage boxes produced some old prints of my fond 1950’s pinups, whose images fitted just so within the four circular apertures; the face below was now becoming more female. From then on in, it became a matter of adding further visual elements to extend the emerging idea behind the work as well as providing visual balance to the emerging composition.

As the work moved towards its conclusion, the drawing of the central character’s face seemed unsatisfactory, so I thought it a good idea to sublimate the image, merging it back within its substrate by sieving and sticking ashes onto the drawn area, thus emphasising the obscure way in which it first emerged.

Starting with no particular theme to express, the method of producing this work, together with its physical and cultural references suggested the title, ‘The Becoming of Womanhood’.