Amanda Faulkner Untitled, 1985

London-based Amanda Faulkner's (b 1953) distinctive style references figuration, Expressionism, and Surrealism, reflecting an intimate female perspective. After receiving an MA from Chelsea School of Art, London, Faulkner spent two years in South America as part of a two-person team making anthropological films of the Canai of Ecuador, and also worked there as an illustrator of short books on the mythology of an Amazonian group. 

In this layered, chaotic carnival scene, Faulkner explores the pressures placed on women, particularly around motherhood, identity, and expectation. A crowned woman clutches a pregnant belly and a snake, surrounded by fairy-tale figures and fragmented bodies. An emotionally charged composition, the work underpins how women are shaped by stories and costumes, revealing the tensions between strength, play, and societal roles. Faulkner uses fantasy to reclaim playfulness without being undermined, revealing complex anxieties women face and critiquing how history has shaped strong women into objects of ridicule.