Izzie Beirne’s work surrounds themes of sexual violence and trauma, the healing process from this and a reclamation of pleasure. Beirne made a film which was the starting point for this piece. The films narrative begins with hands carefully caressing fruit. As the film builds, they start to become manic and violent, cream being poured over the fruit as they ooze, being crushed and pulled apart. The fruit is a metaphor for the body in the work with the hands being the perpetrators.

Beirne created this film as a stand-alone piece but also as a reference point for her painting. Beirne wanted the painting to evolve as Its own work, becoming more open to interpretation. The piece has a sensual quality in how it’s been painted, luxurious in colour, which speaks to the pleasure aspect of the work. Simultaneously it has an ominous quality, with the frenzied hands at the top of the painting’s and the juices of the berries oozing like blood across the canvas. Beirne wanted the piece to be a triptych to bring the filmic quality into the painting, referencing sequencing and capturing a snapshot in time. The filmic aspect is also echoed in the painting’s range of focus, the centre of the painting’s being the sharpest, above and below beginning to blur reminiscent of a lens.