Lakmaier's art is underpinned by existential philosophy and the construct of control. In an interview about Cherophobia, she refers to German philosopher Martin Heidegger and his masterwork Being and Time. "[Heidegger] talks about the everyday as this kind of mode that we operate, in which we forget who we are," she says. "He talks about it as a necessity of being a human, but that occasionally we need experiences that are not the everyday. He calls these 'moments of vision', and they enable us to continue being human and to grow. Maybe that's a bit grandiose, but I hope that maybe there might be a small moment of vision for people. Something that's very different [to their everyday]."