Taking inspiration from everyday life and her formative years growing up in socially conservative Malta, Anna Calleja (b. 1997) seeks to unravel the complex interplay of religion, colonialism and the societal expectations that have traditionally defined womanhood. Her figurative compositions depicting herself, family members and friends often evoke feelings of melancholy and introspection, embodying dualities such as solitude and connection, love and loss. Throughout her work, subtle references to the history of western painting mingle with contemporary themes. In this painting, a woman presses scissor blades into her open palm, as if about to commit an act of self harm. Calleja has described the image as ‘a violent palm reading of women’s destiny’, likening it to the actions of the Moirai – three Greek goddesses of fate who determined human destinies by spinning, measuring and cutting the thread of life – and the Virgin Mary, who is frequently connected to notions of self-sacrifice.