McGinley understands painting to be the true and direct communication of her ideas, using pigment as a vessel for feeling. As a firm believer of the autonomy of art, she uses visuals as a way of conveying her artistic message independently from any form of contextualisation. The result is a body of work linked by aesthetics rather than narrative. There are no intricate storylines informing ‘I’m a Home for No One’ and ‘Stuck in a Form I'm Unsure I Want to Inhabit’. “It is about the bodily quality of paint and about how pigment can activate on a surface.” (Abigail McGinley).

The life in the medium itself is of equal importance to the final picture generated on the canvas. There is a symbiotic dynamic between the sensuality of paint and the subject matter – which in both these works, is the artist herself.

The two paintings are centred around the body and what it means to inhabit one. While deeply interested in women and the female gaze, McGinley detaches from the political connotation of ‘feminist painting’ and speaks about her own, personal experience as a woman, placing sensations and feelings at the forefront of her artistic discourse. Driven by the desire to create atmosphere over storytelling, McGinley aims at making the ephemeral concrete. All actions eroticised, all textures oiled. Each emotion is given space to pulsate, undulate and breathe. In turn, the figure becomes a symbol of sensation.