Rose Illingworth

Rose Illingworth (Rosartworx) made On The Up at 29, in the aftermath of breast cancer treatment. It is a self-portrait — one made for herself, to process the emotional and physical intensity of what she had been through. The eagles are the visual power symbols she returned to in order to rise above it all; the hand at her shoulder is her four-year-old son's, her rock throughout. The painting is an act of documentation and survival: gritting her teeth, keeping breathing, carrying on. It stands as a testament to the extraordinary inner strength women bring to impossible struggles.