Untitled (snake): This is the third iteration of a painting on this one canvas. A reverse excavation of an idea: as the paint built upon each layer, the concept further crystallised. The woman’s figure remained from the second iteration; none has remained from the first. The painting was also the surface of an open mind map excavating biases towards the representation of women in western art, considerably as a gay male painter in the current political climate. The addition of the snake felt like a remnant of this gender/sexual exploration and its broad biblical reference seemed well situated within the vast landscape which the painting eventually evoked after the cumulative erasure of previously described scenes.