"Speak" Original painting

Speak is about finding your voice, whether that be finding your authentic expression as an artist/writer/singer… or finding it within yourself to speak your truth, being able to identify what you want and say it out loud… or the experience of feeling silenced, unheard, unable to unclamp your throat. A lifetime can be lived like this, with throat constricted and the authentic voice silenced, trapped in the chest.

The woman is both young and old. Finding your voice can happen at any time, and being silenced can also happen at any time. It could be the experience of feeling unseen/unheard as an older person, or a marginalised person, or it could be the experience of never developing confidence (or of losing confidence) in your voice which prevents you from speaking.

A symbol of transformation, the butterflies represent the change that can come about in a person when they find, and use, their voice.