I was visiting one of my daughters the other day, and she mentioned she’d been gifted a book, and she’d had to put it down because she was at the point of flinging it off the balcony.  

“It could just be me, though, mum. You might like it, and I’m maybe just being a dick. I don’t think he knows what he’s on about, and I ain’t getting some of the art.”

As she handed it over, I could see that I quite liked the art style. It was close enough to imagery that I knew I’d enjoy looking at, but I was concerned about the writing. Daughter hadn’t even got a quarter of the way through the book before her irritation had risen high enough to reject the entire thing.

The blending of old and new works well in this image. It is fairly typical of Kasia’s work in that it is rich in deliberate symbolism that communicates a message about a snapshot of either a situation or an emotional process. The title of the image, ‘Who Stole My Room of One’s Own?’ demands an answer. We have an obvious reference to the essay written by Virginia Woolf, who asserted that women must have money and space to write. She was referring to writing fiction, but over time, its meaning has evolved to relay something important to women across all artistic disciplines. It serves as a reminder that if basic conditions aren’t met, creativity will not flow. So, the title tells us that not only is something of fundamental importance missing, but it’s also been taken.