A phoenix strains against the weight of a vast, brain-like boulder—its wings ragged, yet reaching for flight. The stone carries the burden of old stories, once defining but now lifeless, while the phoenix embodies transformation and the necessity of change. This work is both personal and universal: an act of self-portraiture, an autobiography in symbol and shadow. It reflects the seven-year cycles of shedding and renewal, of carrying weight until the cost of holding on is greater than letting go.

Breaking Free captures the fragile, exhausting, and exhilarating threshold between endings and beginnings—the moment when an old life falls away and a new story waits to be written. This is the first day of the rest of a life. This is the story of choosing to fly.

Part of a larger body of work exploring the journey of becoming, this piece speaks to the unravelling of inherited and self-written narratives, and the terrifying yet liberating choice to step into a life that feels true.

Materials: Acrylic, ink and pastel on MDF board

Exhibited at

• 2025: Soundworks Arts Hub, Marrickville