The line of a pen or pencil is like a thread that you pull which unravels. With this idea came the desire to embroider. Without really knowing how to embroider, I wanted to simply draw with thread.
I’ve chosen to embroider this book and by doing so I preserve its identity. It’s almost as if I was prolonging its life, telling its story, and weaving it into mine. My embroidered works are intimately linked to the passage of time; passing time, arrested time and lost time. Time spent on embroidering is never lost as some may think, for by working the thread, the hand sews skilfully and freely, liberated from the mind. This happens only on the surface – for the work can slow and the stitching may undo – and so the work must continue with a focus, less it loses its way.
There is also the question of space in embroidery. The action, (passing the needle through and pulling at the thread), is not a grand gesture like a large sweep of the paintbrush. When you embroider, you are free to create on a restricted format, on the detail which forms the bigger picture.
ARTMUSELONDON 