For my piece I chose portraiture as I love to capture feelings and emotions through facial expressions and details on the face, especially the eyes and mouth. I was especially inspired by the artist Ken Currie as he has this haunting look to his piece with his use of pasty white skin tones, dark shadows, and the unnatural cold blue glow, and I felt this closely related to my subject matter. I used exaggerated facial expressions to emphasise the severe emotional state and to suggest pain and suffering and how she has no control over what’s happening. It has been an honour to receive such a prestigious award and I’m grateful that the atmosphere and emotion in my work have been recognised. It has given me a lot of hope for the future!