Cat Woman

An accomplished sculptor and draftsman, Nicola Hicks's work combines sharply observed studies of animals and people with an imaginative element of fantasy. She creates strange, evocative new beasts that seem to live and breathe both on the page and in three dimensions. Her monumental Cat Woman is a self-portrait, where the artist convincingly portrays herself as part feline, part human. With charcoal, Hicks works and reworks areas of the face and body with intensity, particularly around the eyes, giving the figure a dark, shadowy presence and haunting psychological depth. The figure's hybrid appearance and regal character are reminiscent of the enduringly powerful ancient Egyptian goddesses dwelling in the galleries of the British Museum, especially Sekhmet, the lioness-headed warrior goddess.