Healing Hands, 2019

Hand embroidery on calico, 24.5cm x 36.5cm

I made this artwork after experiencing two years of pain in my hands after graduating in 2017. It is a love letter to my favourite medium, embroidery and to the art form which gave me so much confidence, life, purpose and inspiration. Embroidery is my true love. The act of stitching is literally and figuratively healing, as evidenced in this artwork where I am stitching myself back together. White thread words in the background display a subtle but overwhelming experience of “invisible illnesses”, positive and negative words i associate with my experience with sewing and the grief I feel not being able to do it at the speed and quantity I want anymore. People talk about how calming and meditative embroidery can be, not so much about how heartbreaking it is when your body prevents you from doing it.