The Embroideries

The Embroideries employ cross stitch as a method for both passing and marking time.

The series began as a way to pass time during long train commutes between cities. The process of passing the thread through, under, and back through the surface of cloth mirrored the journeys of moving between spaces - heading towards and returning. The relatively simple and adaptable process lent itself to a portable studio that fit into a pocket: a 2.5cm embroidery hoop, a pair of scissors, folded cloth, needle and thread.

Each of the nine embroideries in this series are guided by a set of defined rules that prompted experimentation and an expanded approach to cross stitch. In one embroidery, the body became a device to measure lengths of threads; in another the hoop was employed as a compositional tool; and in yet another an interplay between half and full stitches were used to explore thread density. Underpinning each embroidery is the use of freehand stitching over counted embroidery styles. By eliminating a rigid grid that is fundamental to counted embroidery, the works in the series allowed the trace of the hand to become visible through the tiny shifts of each stitch that accumulate in undulating columns and rows.

The methodical and labour-intensive process evolved to become markers of time, with the title of each embroidery reflecting the total number of stitches in each piece. The long and repetitive task of stitching crossed into a meditative action where time slipped and slowed down.