Ananya Rao-Middleton

Colourful image with a hot pink frame. In the blue centre white dashes of rain fall behind a woman shown seated at a desk, with a sheet of half-written letter and ink well. She has three different poses - one in the centre in which she holds up a hot pink quill and smiles. To the left she bends over in pain. To the right she holds her face and weeps or groans. She wears a white shirt with flouncy collar, a bright orange jacket, pink earring and a red wrap around dark hair.

I was saddened by how Dorothy appeared to be holding together an image of herself through her letters in the 1830s that is often so positive about her health (I’m on the mend! It only happens in winter! The problems are going away, etc) even when she has been through so many near death events due to her condition(s). I wanted to focus on capturing the different faces of Dorothy – the pain she has experienced but also a face that is more ‘put together’ and positive toward her family and friends.
Ananya Rao-Middleton