With Flies by Boundless Theatre opening this week, we wanted to dive into the alternative artwork created for the show. Boundless has worked with four AFAB (Assigned Female At Birth) artists to re-imagine the main show image in their own style, to tell their own complicated tales of ‘girlhood’. In particular we got to hear from Ruth Muko, who created the above imagery.

What initially interested you in this project? 

When given the opportunity to partner with Boundless, I realised I’d hadn’t had the opportunity to personally explore the emotions I’ve had surrounding girlhood, self-image and the male-gaze. The opportunity to delve into and express those emotions artistically for Boundless was something I really wanted to do, not only for the production of Flies but also for myself and my own understanding of how, and who I am today.

How did the themes of the show come together with your own thoughts and feelings around girlhood?  

Girlhood is filled with experiences that can be perspective-changing to the mind, and with every experience, it can change how you see yourself and the world around you. I know that I’ve grown up having my perspective changed so many times during the formative years of girlhood, and Flies‘ themes of girlhood explores a big factor of what/who can change those perspectives.

Finally, tell us about your design and what it means for you.

My design is a reflection of how we can live our lives and not realise the boxes of un-packed emotions and events that we can be unknowingly sitting on. The characters in my design can be anyone of us, blissfully going through the day and sitting on a pile of unresolved topics.

Flies opens on Wednesday 22 February and runs until Saturday 11 March. You can book tickets by clicking here.

You can see more of Ruth’s art on their website by clicking here. You can see the other artist’s responses to the prompt below.