Whitehead’s work explores themes of embodiment; seeing the body as Itself and seeing the body as Other. More specifically, she is interested in the times we encounter our body Itself as the Other. Moments, where we become abruptly and inescapably aware of how our physical self is not something we possess or control but rather something we inhabit.
In becoming aware of our physical misgivings and limitations, we establish our position in the world and what we can make of it. The canvas edge serves as a metaphor for these contingencies. ‘Figures’ devoid of any discernible identity or gender, squeeze and stretch into the edges of the picture plain, ultimately succumbing to these boundaries. What appears as a result straddles the line between the familiar and the absurd; the joyous and the grotesque. An entity which is teetering on the edge of plausibility.