I use the body as an exploration of claiming identity in a Post colonial South Africa while also using the body as a tool to express concerns in the stereotypical depiction of women, particularly black women. The body emphasises the limitation that history has placed on identity. I like to tease and test the viewer's expectations of reality in South Africa today, not only by using the body as a stage or platform to play out scenes of fantasies and realities, but also by changing the viewer's expectations. I like to change and distort the body in order to twist expectations, in the case of Sophie where her skin colour is black. I'm looking at the disempowerment of black women and my work is shaped by our historical past and refers to Post-Colonial theories.

My work deals with the section of women in society that is often off-centre stage, namely maids. Although there has been a political change in our country, there are some conditions that are still prevalent, that are direct results of apartheid. I intend to investigate the shadow of apartheid that still lingers in South African society. Although one can argue the freedom of our country under the new democratic dispensation, many members of the South African society are not free in their minds, haunted by lingering self-doubt.

My work also looks at the ideals of beauty and femininity represented by examples of privileged members of society, and the aspirations of the less fortunate women to be like them. The Victorian dress worn by Sophie is her aspiration that reveals or hints at the history of servitude of black people in South Africa. In addition, I use silhouettes as these are the maid's projected fantasies in a cast shadow. My work is influenced largely by the colonial Victorian costume and I use these costumes as my starting point because of the colonial influences in South Africa. The costume has been carefully replaced by a maid's fabric and pattern which is well known in South Africa while respecting the formal elements of the Victorian era.