SCULPTURE IS THE BODY: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORK OF KIRA O’REILLY

In her mid-forties, Kira takes up mixed martial arts. In anyone else, this would seem like madness, but with Kira, it makes perfect sense. She trains in a grimy East End gym, where most of the regulars are hardbodied young London guys. Part of her routine involves repeatedly whacking a giant tractor tyre with a mallet. After she has told me this, I can’t get the image out of my mind.