The Merchant of Venice is a difficult play – more about this later. Still, Portia remains one of my favourite characters. She starts as a damsel with little agency (it’s her fathers inheritance that makes her attractive to all her suitors, even ”the good guy”, and it’s her father’s riddle that dictates her future). And in the second part of the play she just goes, ”right, I’m well connected and I’m smart – time to disguise myself as a lawyer and go rescue my husband’s creditor (and friend - maybe boyfriend?)”.

Oil Pastels on coloured paper, 30x40 cm – you can find more about the process on the blog.