At the time I made the first of these paintings, the one on the right, I had one cochlear implant and was struggling with the decision of whether or not to have my other ear implanted. My intent was to cut the canvas, as you see in the painting on the left, and inset a collage of organic and inorganic materials underneath, as an abstract representation of a cochlear implant. I was taking a painting class at the time and this was a project I was doing for class. When I got to the point of cutting the canvas, my teacher asked me not to do it. She liked the painting as it was and felt it was finished and complete. So, I did a mirror image copy and did the collage operation on the copy. I like the paintings better as a diptych than I do either one of them alone. Paired this way, I think they capture my dilemma about further implantation. I have experimented with hanging the paintings with the women facing away from each other, as if going in separate directions, or facing each other, as if having a conversation. I don’t think either choice is right or wrong. In 2019 Cochlear, Inc. put out a call for art about hearing loss and/or cochlear implants to put in their new headquarters building in Colorado and these paintings were among the pieces accepted. Here’s a website that talks about their project: https://www.inspireusatcochlear.com/?utm_source=hearandnow&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=ga-t_all_can_bau_bau&utm_content=dtc_artblog_inspireus