Surrogacy is the inspiration behind 2023 Bennett Prize winner Deng “Demo” Shiqing’s solo exhibition, Deng Shiqing: The Cost of Life. The paintings in this series were created during her two-year Bennett Prize grant and represent the freedoms it provided to explore new directions in how, and what, she creates. Combining realistic rendering with passages of loose, expressive brush work, drawing, and abstract patterns and mark-making, the artist’s maturing style establishes an engaging emotional tension, building upon her signature motifs of exaggerated, elongated limbs and fantastical costuming to explore issues around the human body. The Cost of Life is an examination of the emotional and functional questions that surround surrogacy. Using recurring symbols and characters, these paintings examine the emotional and physical burdens of both…