I find it hard to believe that my body will ever be mine

Gretel Chapman

I find it hard to believe that my body will ever be mine (2023) is a self-portrait on a found mirror with male hands pulling back my face as the artists stare meets the gaze of the audience, along with the title accompanying the figuration underneath. This work was painted onto a mirror as a way of reflecting the way the artist views herself, feeling as if her body was and is always something to be claimed by men and altered by the expectations placed surrounding the female body. It’s a vulnerable portrayal of self-criticism and past experiences deeply affecting the artist from her adolescence to now in her early 20s.