The Times

Cotton embroidery thread on newspaper, sizes vary, series begun in 2018.

 Language is a communication of knowledge, and an exploration of the unknown, a vehicle which both clarifies and obscures. Words on paper, or in digitized formats, flow through our world, effecting inspiration, revolution, war. All of these hinge on how individuals give and receive (interpret) messages, how we tell and hear stories through language, how we know.

What stories are we telling? What stories are heard, believed? Which stories are missing? I employ the use of code to expose what is hidden, the coded meaning behind the face of words or text, to question what is stated and what is silent. Covering and revealing words with thread or ink reclaims these hidden messages and exposes a reinterpretation of original meaning through the lens of the reader(s).

In an ever more polarized and digitized news stream, I created a visual binary code to bring attention to opposing poles. In lieu of ones and zeros (on and off, yes and no) I use black and white thread. I obscure reported facts by covering them with stitched coded messages. The slow and meditative act of stitching, placing deliberate marks through a delicate surface, takes attention and presence, a counterpoint to the fast-paced, constant flow of information in the impersonal and virtual context of the internet.

Custom frames

These pieces are now displayed in custom frames, which turn from one side to the other like a page. Read more about the process to realize this presentation, which allows both sides of the pieces to be viewed, here.