I’ve always been inspired by the strength of artists such as Vanessa Tiegs and Judy Chicago using their own corporeal selves to pioneer the way for menstrual art. However, when introduced to the art of Anish Kapoor I was met with a dilemma: his oil paintings which viscerally depict blood bursting from pink fleshly and dark orifices capture such a powerful essence of menstruation, yet he himself is a man. Whilst he never outright claims that his art is based on the feminine the resemblance is uncanny, which raises the question of appropriation. Could a man entering the feminine sphere be the next step in removing the taboo and shame of menstruation within society? Whilst I believe that the artistic development of certain topics should be reserved for those who suffer them, the graphic depiction of blood in Kapoor’s work has challenged my own pieces to be more explicit in reclaiming the rhetoric of menstruation as a woman.

When it comes to experimenting with different media Louise Bourgeouis has always been my most admired experimental artist. Bourgeouis’ use of tights in her conceptual project cells has been the leading influence in my own work with tights. The way she creates a faceless contorted figure that can still resemble something so feminine, provocatively posed yet still non sexual motivated me to move away from my previous ‘acrylic on canvas’ style and harness a more experimental approach. At points using my own body to print onto the canvas (“Easy way out”) or physically be the mould for my art ("On Display”) I have become far more physically involved in the creation of my art now, rather than always been a step back whilst painting. I’ve combined Bourgeouis’ manipulating and stuffing of tights with my desire to make art that normalises the menstruation seen in Kapoor’s work, with pieces such as Friday Night In and Bus Line.

Above all, however, my main inspiration has been Paula Rego who’s work I was able to see in person last year at the Tate. Rego’s Abortion series 1999 foregrounds the undying strength of women undergoing such intimate unregulated abortions, she paints with no intention to glorify or romanticise the procedure as she manipulates her muscular, robust women to completely omit the male gaze. Through my admiration for Rego, I’ve tried to incorporate the concept of female muscularity into my own works, using bright and traditionally ‘unfeminine’ colours to give a muscular appearance to the otherwise nude women I painted.