The Water Is Always Here

Maria collected water from the Thames and applied it directly onto canvas. Its contamination and “weight” blocked intimacy until she responded with protective gestures: layers of soya wax, oil colour, blue pigment, and intuitive brushwork—gestures towards ecological grief and towards ancestral weight.

Blue is central in her work, rooted in ancient Greek symbolism and personal myth. It represents protection, transformation, and the sacred, softening inherited pain and opening space for renewal.

This artwork sized 100x150cm is the central piece in her Degree Show exhibition at the Royal College of Art.