Robert’s illustrations for the short story, “Planning a Future,” by Aritha van Herk were published in the winter issue of Canadian Forum, 1990.

The story is about a clever but fearful young woman, who wonders why she hasn’t made more of her life. The woman thinks about the recent massacre of student nurses in Montreal. She links this to her own experiences with men, which, while not dramatically oppressive, have been disappointing to say the least. Quite out of character, the woman screams into the waves on the beach: “At least he didn’t kill me!” This draws attention to this woman who has always avoided attention and she’s pleased at the effect, resolving to be bolder in future.

Robert’s illustration depicts the woman’s shout as an act of liberation, turning the woman from a victim to a self-assertive individual. The rays projecting from the figure to the heavens are drawn with geometrical precision, giving the work a strange Op Art effect. The second drawing turns this deviant act of self-expression into an enveloping matrix, as if we were witnessing a supernatural transformation.