Umbilical, is a very significant work for me as it was the first work I completed since my brain haemorrhage. This left me blind for a while, and I didn’t know if I’d see again, let alone be able to draw.   Umbilical is about my relationship with my 5 year old daughter Poppy.  She has always been fascinated and comforted by my hair, especially when it is plaited.  Braids often were a symbol of fertility and it seems fitting that it has become a talisman for Poppy, which induces a sense of calm and security.

 

Visually it became a symbol of the connection and interdependence between us that in form resembles the umbilical cord.  In the drawing the braid is becoming tangled and cluttered with twigs that eventually overtake it and become a nest-like form representing nurturing protection.

 

A lot of the twigs and branches I used for inspiration were collected with Poppy on the school run and I made sure that the plaits I referenced were from toys like Anna and Elsa from Frozen or My Little Pony manes and tails.  It represents playfulness and innocence and also the pain of accepting that had I not survived she may have had to rely on the toy plaits as a substitute.

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