Reflecting Ourselves: Disabled women’s self-portraits

image of the access symbol combined with the venus symbol in white against a pink background, set in a grey hand mirror image

Welcome. Please scroll down to view the exhibition and click here to read the Introduction. You can zoom in and out of an image using your browser window (the usual keyboard shortcuts are Command/+ and Command/-) or click on an image to see more details. Remember that you can reduce the contrast on your screen if it is too bright. All images are © the artists. Images are presented for viewing on this website only and must not be downloaded, copied or used for AI training without the written permission of the artist concerned. Please be aware that in addition to pride and joy, resistance and resilience, this exhibition includes the portrayal of nudity, bodily organs and distress. Thursday 12 March 2026 7-8pm: Reflecting Ourselves Exhibition tour and celebration with the artists. Book here.

Exhibiting artists: Francesca Apicella, Michelle Baharier, Liberty Bligh, Karen Bucknall, Rosie Burnout, Lorna Bryson, Dianne Elizabeth Casey, Deborah Caulfield, Gaelle Chassery, Zillah Bosworth Coleman, Jo Farmer, Luminara Florescu, May Gauntlett, Layla Glantz, Louise Golder, Sandra Kerr Gordon, Ju Gosling aka ju90, Linda Gray, Diana Hamilton, Kelly-ann Horsburgh, Jemima Hughes, Barbara Hulme, Meg Hyland, Arlene Jackson, Alanis K, E.G. Kore, Kelly Knox, Kate Lavery, Cherry Lawrence, Anna Li, Magigola1, Pippa Marshall, Caroline Mawer, Melissa, Ruth Mutch, Julie Newman, Agata Nowak, Rivka Leah Revah, Kate Rolison, Xena Schoon, Louisa Sellers, Eve Smith, Ellie Taylor, Anne Teahan, Teddy, Tracy, Renée Wallen, Jo Walsh, Nancy Willis and Ally Zlatar.

Two identical women with patterned faces one eye surrounded by green, the other by purple, showing half of their faces, joined by their red hair on an op-art inspired black and white background.

Francesca Apicella. Phantasmagoria. 2024. Oil on Wood. 18″ x 24”.

Multi-coloured image of a woman with long hair, duplicated with detail of thorns and roses below the portrait.

Rosie Burnout. From DISsimulation project. 2026. Photography & Digital Collage.

Eve Smith. Relaxing. 2022. Digital image.

Vibrant image in multi colours, A woman with lines and stars wiggling emitting from the top of the head to show intensity of thought.

Deborah Caulfield. Sudden Scary Thought. 2016. Mixed medium with thread on paper. 38 x 32 cm.

Portrait of a woman holding her hand to her mouth and onto of her head, overlaid with expressive brush lines in blue and red.

Ally Zlatar. The World, the Flesh and the Breath. 2024. Acrylic on paper. 4” x 6”.

Portrait of a woman (shown in mirror) on a bus, encountering a situation where they are unable to access in their wheelchair due to a man, dog and child taking up the room. The image also focuses on the other empty seats and the hand hook that is not accessible due to its height. 

Anna Li. Purple 89. 2026. Oil Painting. 80 x 60cm.

Pencil drawing of a woman, rendered in black, white and green with detail of flowers in monochrome collaged underneath.

Linda Gray. Subsummation. 2026. Pencil, coloured pencil, and collage on canvas paper. 21 x 29.5cm.

Charcoal drawing of a woman wearing glasses and a coat, looking up.

Anne Teahan. Charcoal on cartridge paper. 2026.

Drawn portrait of a woman’s face and hair coming out from a black background, the left of the face is in shadow and the woman looks at the viewer with piercing blue eyes.

Lorna Bryson. Untitled. 2023. Soft pastels and pastel pencils. 30.5 x 22.8cm.

Painted portrait of a woman in a red jumper and curly long blond hair, on a beach with the sand, sea and sky behind her.

Louisa Sellers. Stuck in the sand. 2026. Acrylics on canvas. 10” x 12”.

Expressive drawing, detailing the artist’s eye in black, white, browns and purples.

Diana Hamilton. Pain is in the Eye of the Beholder. 2023. Pastel on black paper. A3.

Monochrome painted portrait of a woman in a shirt with long hair loosely tied back, looking down. 

Ellie Taylor. 2021. Acrylic on canvas.

Pencil drawing of a woman in glasses, smiling and surrounded by stars.

Melissa. Self Portrait with Stars. 2022. Pencil on paper. A3.

Watercolour portrait of a woman with pink hair and red lipstick screaming, her mouth wrapped in barbed wire, holding a red human heart in her hands outstretched in front of her.

Barbara Hulme. Broken Heart Breakdown. 2024. Watercolour. 22.9 x 30.5 cm.

Montage of 6 drawn self portraits, placed around a central wire figure which is set against a black curtain.

Cherry Lawrence. Self portraits montage. 2026. Chicken wire sculpture, wax pastels drawings.

Black Ink and coloured pastel expressive drawing of three women in a room. The central figure is a woman reading a book, to the left of her a woman sits facing the reader, as though in discussion, to the right the third woman stands with her hand on her hip as tho posing, looking over her shoulder towards the other two.

Zillah Bosworth Coleman. Self Facets. 2025. Calk/Ink/Pen on paper. 64 x 57cm.

Painted nude woman on ceramic plate, her figure has the wings of a butterfly.

Liberty Bligh. Loppafly. 2025. Bone China Lithophane. 23cm x 23cm x 0.2cm circular disc.

Two painted self portraits one dated 2022 with the words “ Lost Identity Wanting to be 20 again, No clear vision” and the other from 2026 and digitally montaged with imagery of art supplies, tarot, a journal, fancy cake and Siamese cat. Around which are descriptive words:  Friend, Mother, Artist, Dreamer, Daughter, Woman, Londoner, Colleague, Girlfriend, Woman, Poet, Life Coach, Ex- Wife, Advisor, Graduate, Godmother, Auntie, Reader, Tutor, Niece, Model, Teacher, Girlfriend, Chocoholic, Trekkie, Jewish, Mentor, Advocate, Social Media Strategist, Friend, Optimist, English, Cousin, Tarot-Reader, Granddaughter, Neighbour, Consultant, Partner, Coach, Scrabbler, Singer, Baker.

Renée Wallen. In the space of four years. 2026. Acrylic paint on canvas (2022), updated digitally (2026).

Montage of a garden in which sits a woman with short hair, wearing glasses, she sits in a wheelchair and part of her figure is hand drawn, with the face, chair and arm collaged from photographs. Standing behind her on a stone staircase are are 6 women, Next to the steps on the left is a pillar and a curtain as though from a stage is to the right, between which is a screen showing a zoom meeting. 

Caroline Mawer. Self Needs Support. 2026. Digital including donated photos. 59.4 x 38.36 cm.

A map with painted and collage elements. In the centre of the image is The Tardis which is surrounded by a plethora of collaged images and the words: Creative, Determined, Imagination, Stop Motion, Adventurous, Deaf, Disabled, Interested, Fun, Animation, Travel, Film Making written in bold red text.

Jemima Hughes. A Map of Me (inspired by Grayson Perry). 2016. Collage, hand painted and printed paper. 75 x 55 cm.

Collage of a woman face, with blond hair and blue eyes, delicately cut and pasted from small pieces of printed medical text, coloured in coloured pencil, in the background is a monochrome printed series of affirmations.

Jo Walsh. Diagnosed, Not Defined. 2026. Mixed media (collage and colouring pencils). A4.

Collage of medical notes and DWP application forms coloured in pastel shades overlaid with ink drawing of a woman, wearing green t-shirt and blue trousers sat on her bed surrounded by letters, water bottle, phone and her cat asleep on her pillow, her walking stick is leaning up against the bed ready to use.

Kate Lavery. What Happens Next. 2026. Collage/Pen Drawing. A3.

Cartoon-like illustration of a pair of bare feet resting on a bed. The woman is wearing loose, patterned trousers with floral or abstract designs in brown, beige, and hints of blue. The feet are positioned close together, toes pointing upward.

Jo Farmer. Bed Life. 2025. Digitally altered smartphone photo.

Pencil drawn illustration of a woman in yellow check outfit wearing yellow star glasses, she stands against a yellow background facing the viewer with a pair of yellow crutches supporting and has tattoos on her arms.

May Gauntlett. All in yellow. 2025. Creative Markers.

A cartoon illustration of a woman sitting in a manual wheelchair. She’s wearing blue-tinted glasses, a purple outfit (shirt, trousers, and shoes), and her brown hair is tied back in a ponytail with a purple streak. She has a light-colored cat sitting on her lap, and there are purple stars in the background. The wheelchair is detailed with purple on the frame and front caster wheels, matching her clothes.

Ruth Mutch. Purple me. 2025. Digital illustration (using Procreate). 15 x 15cm.

Multi-coloured hand-drawn illustration of woman with dark red gloves touching the forehead and various symbolic elements around the face, including a fairground carousel, an eye shape, two laughing suns and two green aliens with speech bubbles showing symbols and exclamation marks. Underneath the woman are the words “ we’ll never know what happened”.

Meg Hyland. We’ll never know what happened. 2025. Coloured pencil, ink, Posca pen.

Painting of a woman with long bright pink hair and round dark glasses, on a balcony in a desert like area with sand, mountains and palm trees.

Michelle Baharier. Window to my secret desert life. 2025. Acrylic paint. 70cm x 40cm.

A mermaid is sitting on a rock on the foreshore, looking out over a blue sea and sky, with green hills at the side.

Julie Newman. Ar Lan Y Môr. 2026. Gouache and watercolour pencil. A4.

Portrait painted on a chopping board of a woman smiling. Behind her is a bright blue background and she wears black-rimmed glasses and a red shirt. 

Rivka Leah Revah. True Happyness. 2026. Paint on chopping board.

Expressive portrait of a woman’s face in blue with pale yellow hair and blue eyes rendered onto terracotta with slip.

Agata Nowak. Containing Memory. 2024. Slip on terracotta. 25 x 25cm approximate.

Photograph of a woman smiling wearing a pink shirt and rainbow sash with the words Classic and Warrior visible, she holds up a stoma bag with a red heart on it and the words “I’m still Karen”.

Karen Bucknall. My bag for life that saved my life! 2025. Digital image.

Photograph of a woman in the sun, stood in front of a swimming pool in a turquoise bikini, her left arm ends at her elbow and her right hand is held aloft.

Kelly Knox. Solar Sigil (Self-Portrait). 2025. Digital Photograph.

A woman with blond hair wearing dark glasses, blue sweatshirt and black trousers sits in a power chair infront of a blue van, she is holding a box containing miscellaneous objects.

Tracy. Have Wheels, Will Roll. 2025. Digital photo.

A young woman with shoulder length hair and wearing a green top and black trousers, sits smiling in a wheelchair in a park, on the path front of her is a rainbow that has been drawn in chalk.

Teddy. Rainbow in the Park. 2020. Digital photo.

A woman wearing glasses, a blue beanie hat, grey scarf, a navy blue jumper with a star on it and blue trousers sits on an off-road mobility tricylcle in front of a sunset superimposed on the workshop doors behind.

Ju Gosling aka ju90. Adre. 2026. Digital image.

Photograph of a mobility vehicle on a dirt track in a wooded area, sunlight filters through trees to create dappled shade, in the mirror of the vehicle we see a woman reflected, wearing dark glasses she holds up her phone to take a selfie. 

Arlene Jackson. On the Wing. 2025. Digital photograph.

Portrait of a smiling woman wearing a white hooded top and blue jeans sat in a power chair in a domestic space.

Xena Schoon. Disabled Joy. 2019. Digital photograph.

Still life photograph of a box of colouring pencils and a journal onto of which sits a pot of coloured pencils and a mirror in which we see the reflection of a woman with brown hair wearing glasses.

Pippa Marshall. Reflection among the materials. 2026. Digital photograph.

Photograph of a woman holding a purple walking stick and wearing a red top and purple trousers and red bag and shoes, taking a selfie infront of an antique mirror in a room full of works of art with antique craft furniture on rustic wooden floorboards. 

E.G. Kore. Briefly made visible. 2026. Digital photograph.

Photograph of a woman smiling wearing a pink shirt and rainbow sash with the words Classic and Warrior visible, she holds up a stoma bag with a red heart on it and the words “I’m still Karen”.

Nancy Willis. Living in Colour. 2026. Digital Photograph. Thanks to Ilsa Colsell and Talula Noor.

Photograph of a person wearing a very chunky, bright pink knitted scarf or jumper covering their entire head and face, below it they are wearing a denim jacket with oversized badges on and a brown and white spotted shirt. 

Luminara Florescu. Self-Care Scarf (I Need a Cosy Rosy Day Pink). 2023. Digital photograph.

Stitched portrait of a woman’s face with pale blue and multi coloured shoulder length hair and blue eyes and a green t-shirt on a deep blue background.

Kelly-ann Horsburgh. Kelly…. all stitched up and feeling Blue. 2023. Free motion machine embroidery. 19 x 15 cm.

Two statements embroidered onto white doily, one says “ I embroidered in the forest” in green thread in the shape of a leaf and the other says “ Now I will write on the shore” in gold thread the shape of a wave.

Kate Rolison, Where does a woman write?, 2026, hand embroidery on doily, 17 x 24cm

Mirrored and blurred filtered digital photograph of a woman smiling, wearing a black top with an ornate and mirrored print on the wall behind her.

Magigola1. My perfect self image. 2019. Digitally enhanced photo.

 Monochrome and Sepia photographic collage. Left panel: A black-and-white side profile of a woman, overlaid with angular shard-like lines. Center panel: A sepia tinted photograph of woman lit through window blinds, creating striped shadows across their face.  Right panel: A silhouetted head filled with geometric cutouts and radiating lines.

Alanis K. Self & My Shadows: Past Trauma and Anticipatory Grief. 2026. Photograph. A3.

Layla Glantz. Exposure. 2005. Photograph.

Photograph of small-scale room scene. Featuring a skeleton sitting in bed using a laptop, knitting materials ( balls of wool, needles, fabric. A calendar with a sheep on, a wall clock labeled “CRIP TIME” and other domestic details (blankets, shelves, plant, phone hot waterbottle).

Gaelle Chassery. Crip Crib. 2024. Mini installation.

Photograph of a hollow porcelain white egg shell cracked down its centre and delicately stitched together with black thread against a white background. 

Sandra Kerr Gordon. Resilient. Porcelain and thread. 2024. 10 cm.

Ink and charcoal drawing featuring a large area of seemingly split ink resembling a bird,  in amongst this a pair of eyes looks out. 

Louise Golder. Masking 1. 2024. Indian ink, Charcoal and chalk. 39 x 29cm.

Photograph of printed poem with redactions, thick black ink obscures everything else on the page, leaving only the phrases visible. “No lesson.” “No redemption arc.” “Just breathe.” “Still uneven.” “Still here.”

Dianne Elizabeth Casey. Still Here. 2026. Blackout poem (printed text with hand-applied ink, photographed digitally). A4.

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