“I use thread to map the geography of memory. Embroidery can expose memory in all of its disarray and confusion. In my recently completed series, titled Fleshmap: My Embroidered, Bipolar Geographies, I use thread to circumnavigate my own bipolar disorder. Each of the 15 embroidered panels excavates events beginning in 1985 and spanning several US cities as well as multiple relocations between the U.K., Ireland, Iceland, Mexico and Lebanon. Within each panel are images and text pulled from memories, traumas, confusions, artifacts and maps.
I am now transfixed by encounters with absence and presence. Specifically, I’m gripped by the mysterious traces our bodies leave behind within garments and bed linens and how embroidery can reveal those private territories.”
