This is what arrived, after the removal of the old bridge, in preparation for the installation of the new one. Its function was to carry liquid concrete from the west bank, which has vehicle access, to the east bank, which doesn’t. So obviously, all I could see was a massive ovipositor laying eggs in our field.

I began by drifting dilute inks onto a primed surface, then pencilling in the shapes. I used dilute water-soluble oils to describe the river banks but something a bit more solid for the river itself which, pointedly, does not reflect the sky. At this point, I had moved well away from reality and looked instead to make a rather more fantastical image. The most substantial and precise element is the telescopic delivery tube which, unfortunately, I didn’t see either extending or retracting but that had a surreal presence about it. Like many mythical or magical forms, it has no reflection.

Ovipositor, 2026. Mixed media on 10x24cm canvas.

© Suzanne Conboy-Hill 2026