I took the reference photo for this painting in my kitchen, where what appears casual was deliberately composed. While flipping through a newspaper for the setup, I stopped at a headline that read, “Why is there still a gender pay gap in 2024?” It felt impossible to separate the private moment from the societal reality it pointed to.

Still life has always been a way for me to speak about the feminine experience — quiet rage, irreparable damage, and beauty nonetheless. Along with the setting of the scene, the title refers to how gendered expectation lives inside ordinary moments. This particular work lives between the tension of personal experience and public reality.