The pool, as always in my pool series, is the permanent structure. The anchor. It holds the scene while the children grow, the seasons change, and time moves forward.

The pool stands steady — architectural, calm, permanent.
The girls are all movement and momentum.

This tension between structure and spontaneity is something I return to again and again in the series. The permanent holding the temporary. The built environment containing fleeting joy.

As my practice evolves, I’ve become more conscious of what I’m really constructing in these pool scenes. I’m increasingly aware that these works are doing something more intentional.

We live in a world largely shaped by systems that were not originally designed with girls and women at the centre. That “man made” world is shifting — it is improving — but there is still work to do.

In my paintings, I construct contained environments where the terms feel different. The pool - bright, intentional, protective - becomes more than a suburban backdrop. It becomes a designed space of safety. The space feels open yet secure. Within it, the girls exist freely. They take up space. They are watched over, but not constrained. A world where energy, physicality and sisterhood unfold without threat. Where the architecture holds them rather than confines them.

Seven years into this body of work, I understand more clearly that I am not just painting “my daughters around our pool”. I am painting propositions. Small, vibrant worlds where girls matter — where they are safe, valued and free to move toward the water without hesitation. The girls take up space physically and unapologetically.
Their bodies are strong, balanced, mid-action — not decorative, not diminished.

My work is large in scale. Unapologetic in colour. Full of heart — and intention.

When my husband and I built our own pool for our daughters, it wasn’t about luxury. It was about creating a space of belonging. A contained world where they could play, reflect, argue, grow — safely.

Australian artists have long used the swimming pool as a cultural symbol — from the luminous, immersive waters of Martine Emdur to the structured, psychological spaces of Jeffrey Smart. Pools in our visual language are never just about water. They speak to climate, identity, aspiration and design.

My work builds on that legacy, but shifts the focus.

For me, the pool is a metaphor for the kind of world I want to construct — one where girls are safe, valued and free to take up space. Where they matter.

Sometimes it’s in these quiet, in-between moments that we model a different world — one built on care, belonging, and love.

And perhaps that’s where real change begins.