The exhibition explores themes of fertility, birth, the bodily intimacy of growing new life, as well as the ‘rebirth’ of oneself through the experience of motherhood. Framed by the notion that we can gain a deeper understanding of our own self through the recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves, this exhibition looks at the curious and transcendent shift from self as a singular entity (existence) to mother. The resemblance between the Self and the Other, the resemblance between Her and I, embracing and navigating the new self as mother and the shifting tides between tenderness and tension.
Through the artist’s reductive creative process, Walls creates a visual language that challenges the traditional female nude and speaks more directly of the female experience, offering an alternative and progressive representation of womanhood and identity. Using a restrained colour palette of neutrals, rich blues and earthly natural tones, combined with a deep consideration for the line and composition that makes up each artwork, the paintings hover somewhere between figuration and abstraction. Fluidity of form and heroic silhouettes loom, in a substantial yet tender light, emanating a nuanced reading of femininity.
'Resemblance' is a welcomed continuation of Walls’ exploration of how minimal form, shape and line may come to reflect and symbolise the diverse possibilities of the female form.