Sonia Queija was inspired by an old black-and-white photograph, with a pronounced grain, of Barbara Hepworth, a major British sculptor of the 20th century and an emblematic female figure of the international avant-garde and modernist movement.

In the photograph, Barbara Hepworth gazes towards the horizon, standing on a beach. Sonia Queija captures the intensity and inner movement of the image, translating them into a slender sculpture moving forward with confidence, like a figurehead facing the open sea.

One hand is open, while another presence is delicately resting on her shoulder: this second hand belongs to another, symbolising the invisible bond that connects us. For, as the artist likes to remind us, we are never alone.