Zoe Buckman

“My art should have a lightness and sweetness. Especially since it has heavy and triggering subject matters, I prefer to present it in a way that's palatable and draws people in.”

“Caring for someone who is terminally ill is traumatic, but it's a privilege too. It's part of being a woman.”

“I knew I wouldn't be able to afford to rent a studio as well as get a home that I was excited about. So I was like, if I can do both in one, I can just about make it work.”

“My mum, Jennie Buckman, was a north London Jew who, with my dad, proudly chose to raise me and my two brothers in Hackney.”

“I cook a lot more now that my studio is in my home.”

“As artists we need to stop making work only for gallery or museum walls, or the coffee tables of collectors.”

“One thing to remember is that human beings connect through vulnerability. That's our core way of connecting.”

“I don't think I ever really felt comfortable with photography as my sole medium. But it wasn't really until I became a mother - I really credit that to opening me up artistically, I think because it was such an empowering birth for me - it gave me the confidence to explore different modes of expression.”

“I thought having to explain the risibility of gender codes would be mostly behind us by now.”

“I grew up in a feminist household in Hackney, East London, my mum was responsible in many ways for the feminist stain on the socialist party, and my dad had really strong feminist leanings.”

“There's a real lack of basic understanding of the female body and the reproductive system.”

“Tupac was actually pro-choice, which is fantastic. Of course, those moments in rap are few and far between.”

“It wasn't until I became a mother that I started to refer to myself as an artist as opposed to a fine art photographer.”

“The process of learning how to defend my body, how to own my space and take away space from other people, and getting me in touch with my masculine, testosterone-heavy side, from a personal development standpoint, it was really helpful to me - as well as releasing aggression and frustration.”

“Boxing was really cathartic for me.”

“I was a big hip hop girl, and still am, I listened to artists like Wu Tang, and K'Naan, but I was a particular fan of Biggie and Tupac.”

“It's so difficult as a female artist to make actual money, in my experience.”

“I was obsessed with American hip-hop as a teenager.”

“Our consciousness wants to connect through struggle and even pain. So in a funny sort of way, vulnerability is attractive.”

“I'm hoping to raise a little consciousness and shine some light on the idea of responsibility.”