"I am Confident"

Emma Carr’s abstract painting “I am Confident” is striking for its contrasts. The figure of a woman comes to life through the juxtaposition of intense, dark linework over loose swathes of pastel pink and muted grays across the canvas. Although the woman’s form is central in the image, it feels balanced in the composition with the nuanced use of negative space. Even without eyes or a mouth to convey emotion, one feels a tension between the confidence expressed in the painting’s title and what the posture of her body signifies. Her upright neck and squared shoulders indeed act as evidence of self-assuredness and self-awareness. Even if her gaze wouldn’t directly confront the viewer, she looks ahead and not downwards passively. Yet, she also folds inward slightly at the waist, covering part of her chest with both arms bent at the elbows and lifting one hand up to lightly graze her ear, from which we might infer she still feels the need to protect herself to a certain degree. All people, but women especially, vacillate between what they choose to hide versus reveal to the world based on the culmination of their lived experiences. In this way, Carr’s painting could be said to represent a wide array of women and I would imagine that many women could see themselves in this emblematic work of quiet strength.