The figures in Clough’s work are often compressed and heavy. Her treatment of the body was influenced by Cubism, with the figure positioned on the same plane as his surrounding environment. The neutral coloured blocks of the figure are mirrored in the shapes around him, emphasising the flat picture plane. From 1949 to the early 1950s, Clough’s gritty subject matter was heavily dominated by figures in their industrial workplace. She was particularly interested in the relationship between the two, and the more she investigated this theme the less the figure became distinguishable from his mechanised environment.