It was upon reading the work of Dr Vijeyarasa that I first became aware of the Philippine legislation that provides paid leave for victims of domestic violence. I was impressed to learn my home country enacted this law in 2004, some 18 years before my adopted country of Australia followed suit. The fact that I was only just learning of it personally reinforced Dr Vijeyarasa's critique that global narratives promote the achievements of some countries over others. It is such narratives that frame the Global North as progressive and the Global South as forever catching-up, creating, as Dr Vijeyarasa argues, "cross-border barriers to sharing practice."

From this, I began to consider other barriers that may impede efforts to support gender equality. Reflecting on my experiences of the Philippines, I could think of very few people who, if needed, would be able to access this paid leave provision. There seemed to me a multitude of possible barriers to accessing protections, including systemic inequality, corruption, patriarchal norms, the gendered nature of informal employment, and a slow-moving justice system, to name a few. 

Upwards and Onwards presents a chaotic jumble of twisted ceramic rebars, emerging from concrete rubble. The work’s concrete foundation is solid if imperfect; while the ceramic rebars are meticulously made, in their fragile serpentine forms, they are entirely unfit for purpose. Through these contrasting materials and forms, Upwards and Onwards explores the systemic inequalities that undermine progressive change.