This half-concealed, dejected female nude is one of many dark portrayals of female subjectivity made by Douthwaite during her career. The female experience is a dominant theme in her artwork but her characters could not be described as feminine. The public exposure that her work brought and her personal feelings of alienation are represented in this stark pitiless image. 'In a way I paint my experiences but they are not nightmares, to create is to set free the demons who dwell in the most secret parts if the mind.'