The Relic Series evolved from my reflections on the ageing female body in contemporary society. In these stitched works I tap into my anxieties about ageing, fed by the continuous and intense media coverage of the global pandemic and my fearfulness around catching Covid 19.

The foundational structures for the works Feeling my way into meaning, What lies beneath my breast, and Skin 1, are constructed from mulberry bark and cotton organdie, dyed with onion skins to represent ageing flesh. Embroidery and applique techniques are applied directly to the bark. In these three works I draw on weave stitches as a metaphor for emotional repair, seed stitches to depict the breath, as in one’s physical and spiritual vitality, and randomly placed french knots and bullion stitches to highlight the messy relational entanglements of daily living.

Feeling my way into meaning, is a portrait of my hand. A reference to the sexagenarian female body. Here I suggest, contemporary society places value on youthful beauty and surface appearance. Whereas, although invisible most of the time to the contemporary social eye, there is beauty and knowledge to be discovered, in the markings of experience on the ageing body.

spraying apart the wrapping of seasoned meat
unpinning this once upon a time elastic flesh
embroidering feelings that lie between
the historied layers of this hand
real bodies have their lives stitched into them.