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From the Matildas series. Up close, a dense architectural pattern. Step back, and small variations resolve into a portrait of Nettie Stevens, embedded in the structure that erased her. Nettie Stevens (1861-1912) She was the first to demonstrate that the Y chromosome determines sex (1905). Identified the XY system in beetles and flies. 38 papers in 11 years. Credit for her discovery went to Edmund Wilson, who published similar findings the same year but made a smaller theoretical leap. Her doctoral advisor Thomas Hunt Morgan built his career on the chromosome theory she had proven, while he himself had resisted it. He won the 1933 Nobel in Medicine for that foundation. In her obituary, he called her a great technician, not a theoretician. In 1906, Wilson and Morgan were invited to speak on sex determination at a major conference. Stevens was not. Featured at the Rouen National Arts 2026 Biennale (Halles aux Toiles, Rouen, 20 May to 14 June 2026) Medium: Acrylic and Pen on Canvas Size: 61 × 61 cm / 24 × 24 inches Year: 2026