“Prior to beginning, she will work in photo sessions of one to two hours at a time. She asks a member of her chosen queer family - her closest, most immediate friends - to assume a pose that feels natural and comfortable for them (...) these photographs serve as the starting points of her paintings, which she always complements with transparent colours - in search of a form of clarity. She then slowly accumulates opaque layers, carefully building up the subject and the space. Her extravagant colours compensate for her subjects' introversion: Phthalo green. Egyptian violet. Scarlet lake. Alizarin crimson. This improvised palette springs forth from the very moment Birde - her choice having been made - can no longer escape. (...) Birde tells me of how crucial her relationship with her sitters is: because she knows them already, she is better able to compare the painting with the person. Do the gestures she associates with a particular loved one translate to the canvas? Has she captured their expression? Would their arm usually come to rest in such a position? She realises that the works remain individual readings: her own, composite images of a loved one. (...) Despite the many possible ways of approaching one's muse, an artist always reserves that right of interpretation. And yet I detect reciprocity. She chooses these sitters because she feels safe with them. (...) Instinctively, I sense that the hesitation in their gazes stems from being viewed time and again with hostile eyes. It attests to their discomfort. Their not wishing to open up (right away), for the sake of avoiding unpleasant confrontations. I recognise wounds of the kind that may never heal.there'. In Birde's portraits, I recognise doubt and fragility; she allows that side of queerness to bubble to the surface, too. The hesitation is rooted precisely in that vulnerability. When I see how Birde's chosen family are willing to show themselves in all their vulnerability, to leave behind the glittery masks and parades for an intimate portrait, any sense of alienation suddenly turns into familiarity.” (Excerpt from recent publication A Glimpse Is All I Need text by Dagmar Dirkx, Posture Editions, 2023)