This series explores the use of fabric as a cover, as protection, as a sanctuary for humans literally and figuratively. It looks at the power of artistic responses to contemporary problems in raising awareness, provoking empathy and hopefully inspiring positive change.
Wrapped- 90cmx60cm - oil paint, acrylic paint, fabric, and yarn on canvas- January 2025: People have been wrapping their dead in fabric for centuries. Across beliefs and cultures, burial shrouds stem from a human need to purify, to protect, to contain what we are surrendering to the great unknown. And while the living cloak themselves in fabric for warmth, for safety, for cover, and for solace, they use the soft swaddle of cloth to comfort them through grief when they are parting with loved ones. This painting is the first of a series about life and death. About hope and fear; about wrapped women - literally shrouded in layers of fabric, and figuratively wrapped inside the layers of their own existence.
Wrapped II- 90cmx60cm - acrylic paint and fabric on canvas - February 2025: What has always fascinated me about textiles is that everybody in the world, no matter who or where they are, uses them. And ever since humans figured out spinning and weaving fiber into clothing, they have been expressing themselves creatively through them. Through color and dyeing, looming and weaving, threads and textures, cuts and designs, humans the world over have always been expressing themselves with the fabrics they create and wear. And whether or not we are interested in clothing, we each have to make daily choices which reflect back on us. Culture, mood, circumstance, weather, finances, and beliefs will determine and show through what we wear. And next to the color of our skin, our clothes act as the filter through which others will invariably make assumptions about us. Judgements follow and this often determines the way we will treat one another. The political and ideological chasm between East and West is riddled with such antics. And as we wrap our heads (pun intended!) around news of cruelty and injustice in the world, we each burrow deeper into the safety of our customary garments- those that shield our deepest, most primal fears - and hope they can swallow the grief that covers us.