Hepworth began her career as a sculptor working with wood or stone. It was during this early stage that she developed her method of introducing empty space into her compositions by creating permeable openings in a solid block of material. Later, she transitioned to using bronze to achieve more fluid and complex forms. The work’s title references Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea where Saint John the Apostle is said to have written the Book of Revelations, the last book of the Christian bible.