fine art

Becoming a Pixel

Last month I finished the first portrait from my series Becoming a Pixel so I thought it was time to share a little more about the project:

Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 1/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches, 36 hours of labour

My multidisciplinary practice explores the intersection of digital art and embroidery, through processes rooted in traditional craft. I’m interested in the dichotomy between fast-paced digital technologies and the time-consuming practices of cross-stitching, knitting, and other needlework. Through my laborious approach to making art, I mirror society’s obsession with technology and its ability to both connect and disconnect. My project Becoming a Pixel will be a series of cross-stitched self-portraits that visually demonstrate how digital technologies are impacting the way we view ourselves and engage in the world.

(Detail) Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 1/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the world to evolve and adapt more towards digitization. The most convenient way to stay connected has been through our computers and devices. On the one hand, technology has been the glue that has held us together and it is how we have been able to express our frustrations, triumphs, and hardships through this new “normal”. Digital spaces are where we now spend most of our time. This means that our existence is almost always mediated through a screen or some form of digital technology.

On the other hand, the loss of physical connection has also caused us to feel more disconnected from each other. It can be hard to feel connected to others and have meaningful interactions through digital spaces. But it can also be challenging to stay truly connected to yourself. While using technology we are constantly being bombarded with advertisements and content that often become difficult to ignore. Algorithms curate most digital content, which means we have very little control over what we are being exposed to daily. With this loss of power, we begin to lose our sense of self, and our individuality can get lost in the void of virtual space.

Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 1/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches, 36 hours of labour


The Becoming a Pixel series will emphasize the loss of self through virtual space, each of the five cross-stitched self-portraits will become progressively more pixelated from the previous one. The same black and white self-portrait will be used to create the cross-stitch pattern for each piece in the series. Now that the first pattern has been cross-stitched, it has been scanned and converted into a new cross-stitch pattern (which will be used for the second portrait). For each new pattern the number of pixels are reduced by fifty percent, but the number of cross-stitches in the patterns remain consistent. This will result in portraits that become increasingly devoid of detail, and increasingly devoid of my own identity. The final portrait will appear as a solid square (pixel), symbolizing loss of human identity through digital technology. 

(Detail) Becoming a Pixel - Portrait 1/5, 2022, embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 7 x 7 inches

 
 

March 2022 - Update

  • Canada Council for the Arts project grant 2022 - Becoming a Pixel

  • Inside the new studio/prep for upcoming exhibitions

  • Work in progress

Canada Council for the Arts - Project Grant 2022 - Becoming a Pixel

I’m very excited to share that this year I will be receiving my second Canada Council for the Arts project grant for a new cross-stitch series titled “Becoming a Pixel”. Through my laborious approach to making art, I mirror society’s obsession with technology and its ability to both connect and disconnect. The “Becoming a Pixel” series of cross-stitched self-portraits will visually demonstrate how digital technologies are impacting the way we view ourselves and engage in the world.

I will be starting this project in April, but for now I’m currently working on grant applications for the next deadline. I can’t wait to share more about the project and process along the way!

Inside the new studio/prep for upcoming exhibitions

I’ve been spending the past couple months getting things set up in the new studio and I finally feel like it’s coming together! I created two mockups for a couple of solo exhibitions I’m planning for in October 2022 and February 2023. This is a very important stage of the process to make sure that I stay on schedule to complete works that haven’t been made yet.

The first show “Back to the Future: Digital Art Through Embroidery” at the Doris Crowston Gallery at the Sunshine Coast Arts Council in Sechelt will be on display from October 14 - November 13, 2022. The second exhibition, “Womanmade: Crafting Architecture and the Mundane” at the Morey Family Gallery at Art Reach of Mid-Michigan, Mount Pleasant, MI, is scheduled for February 3-27, 2023.

Work in progress

I’m currently restraining myself from getting too involved in new projects while I focus on grant writing. So to keep my creative juices flowing I recently stitched all my loose threads onto the ongoing “Stitching Loose Ends” project. I’ve also been slowly working on my 23 inch embroidery hoop for a conceptual project tentatively titled “Stitching, Unstitching”.

Work in progress, Stitching Loose Ends, 2018-2022

Work in progress, Stitching, Unstitching, 2022

February 2022 - Update

  • New private art studio!

  • New work - Uncanny Cross-Stitch (3)

Back at the beginning of January, I moved into my first private art studio space! The City Centre Artist Lodge is an old hotel that’s been converted into an artist studio building. This first month was mainly spent sprucing things up (as you can see from the before photos, there was some much needed TLC). Due my recent arm injury I needed to hire someone to do the labour of removing the carpet and painting. But I have to say it’s definitely improved and I’m so happy with how it’s already starting to come together! The past few weekends my focus has been accumulating the necessary furniture and putting it all together. But I’m very excited for this week since I’m hoping to start moving over some of my art and supplies! Once I have things better set up, I’ll start creating/working from there and share more from behind the scenes in my new space.

Lastly, this weekend I finished Uncanny Cross-Stitch (3) to wrap up a new series of three works. These works will be included in a solo exhibition planned for 2023 titled Womanmade: Crafting Architecture and the Mundane.

Uncanny Cross-Stitch (3), 7 x 5.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2022

December 2021 - Update

  • ArtRich 2021 Exhibition at Richmond Art Gallery

  • Uncanny Cross-Stitch

  • Stitching, Unstitching (working title)

  • Embroidery floss organization

  • Stitching Loose Ends (ongoing work in progress)

ArtRich 2021 - December 3 – December 31

Richmond Art Gallery
7700 Minoru Gate

Opening Reception: Dec. 3, 6pm-9pm
Timed entry for the Opening Reception for ArtRich 2021. Visitors welcome to view the exhibit in 45-minute time slots. Register on EventBrite.

Richmond Art Gallery is delighted once again to partner with the Richmond Arts Coalition (RAC) for the fourth bi-annual, juried exhibition. The exhibition celebrates local talent by providing an opportunity for emerging and established artists from Richmond and nearby communities.

Gallery viewers will be able to participate in the People’s Choice Awards. Results will be announced in Richmond News early January 2022.

In a partnership with the City of Richmond, three ArtRich-selected artists will be featured in a public art exhibition for the No.3 Road Art Columns from February 1 to July 31 in 2022.

Uncanny Cross-Stitch (1), 7 x 5.5 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2021

Uncanny Cross-Stitch (1) is the first of a new series that was inspired by some of the digital art work I made while I was studying my MFA back in 2016. The reference images I used to create the cross-stitch patterns were multilayered digital imagery that I created using Photoshop. The source images used for these digital works were photographs of architecture and mundane industrial objects/structures such as fire hydrants, lamps posts, windows, and more! I’ve always been fascinated with these sorts of things and I love how they exist everywhere in the world, but each has their own unique character and design.

I’m interested in the idea of bringing things to the forefront that may go unnoticed or unseen. As I write this blog, I’m realizing there’s a parallel between these everyday mundanities that go unnoticed and the often invisible labour of women, which is a theme I’ve been exploring throughout this past year. I’m looking forward to producing more works that use handmade feminine craft processes to translate imagery of manmade masculine objects/structures. If you don’t remember or haven’t seen my cross-stitch series Remnants of the Manmade, this was my first endeavour into this new body of work that I will continue developing.

Stitching, Unstitching is the working title of a new work that I’m getting ready to start. The other day I ironed and cut a large piece of Aida cloth in preparation. For this project, I will log hours of labour spent cross-stitching white thread on white Aida cloth, approx. 16 x 16 inches (224 squares x 224 squares), in a 24-inch embroidery hoop. After the cross-stitching is complete, I will proceed to unravel all of the stitching and log these hours as well. The threads, labour logs, Aida cloth, and embroidery hoop used during the process will all be part of the final presentation.

This work is both conceptual and process-based. The absence of a finished cross-stitch piece directs the viewer towards the suggested labour that was performed but is no longer visible. The labour executed in this piece is two-fold: first there is the labour required to stitch, second there is the labour required to unravel the piece. In the end, the only evidence of this labour is the documentation of the hours logged. This represents how women often work tirelessly, only to have their labour undervalued.

By using a traditional craft technique, the project explores women’s unrecognized labour. The process of hand stitching emphasizes the value of physical labour over mechanical production. Although the labour is invisible, the viewer can imagine the movements, the time, the traces of what used to be there, as well as the woman and artist that the labour was executed by. Overall, the piece invites the viewer to question the value of women’s labour, productivity, and craft.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been doing one of the most satisfying things, organizing my embroidery floss collection! I’ve accumulated quite a lot of thread over the past four years and I thought it was time to make things easier to find and replenish stock when I run out of a particular colour that I need to finish a project.

At the end of 2017, right before I moved to Vancouver (and really when I started to focus more on cross-stitching within in my art practice), my mom and I went to a flea market in White Rock where I scored a huge stash of embroidery thread for a steal of a deal! Then in September 2019, while I was at the Vermont Studio Centre for an artist residency, I realized I hadn’t brought enough supplies to last for my trip and I would need to buy some more thread.

Well I didn’t have a car and there weren’t any local stores in small town Johnson, VT that sold embroidery thread. It was recommended that I join a neighbourhood buy & sell group, where I posted an advertisement asking if anymore in town had supplies I could purchase. Well lucky for me, someone nearby offered to give me (yes give me) any of the thread from their (even bigger than mine) collection. Another steal! Needless to say I’ve received lots of deals and freebies over the years, but a lot of the threads were odds and ends and they needed to be grouped together with their family of colours. So I’ve finally organized them all and they look spectacular (if I do say so myself)!

Lastly, I recently added to my ongoing side project Stitching Loose Ends. It may not seem like it, but it is growing, slowly and steadily!

Stitching Loose Ends (ongoing work in progress), embroidery floss, Aida cloth⁠, 16 inches wide x 4.5 inches thick⁠, 2018-2021

May 2021 - Update

Feminist Craft of Care for Times of Crisis: a presentation panel

FeministCraftofCare.jpeg

On May 13th @6:30pm-8:00pm PST, I will be presenting at an artist panel “Feminist Craft of Care for Times of Crisis”, alongside Lena Chen & Sarah Shamash. The panel is part of Digital Carnival Z an annual festival run by Cinevolution Media Arts. I’m very excited to be part of such a well run event and to be presenting with such amazing and talented artists. Register online through Eventbrite to attend the event for free.

I will present works from the past several years which investigate notions of labour, productivity, and the value of art in relation to craft and women’s work. Instead of becoming reliant on computers and other advanced technologies that are accelerating the speeds of production and consumption alike, I choose to look back to centuries-old practices that have been passed down through generations of women. I explore the parallel between repetitive processes and computer programming by taking on the role of a machine.

By embracing time-consuming processes such as hand-stitching, I emphasize the importance and value of women’s labour. As a female artist, my labour is feminized and inherently connected to women’s domestic work. I challenge expectations of traditional craft by introducing conceptual layers and experimentation with new media. Throughout my artist talk, I will bring awareness to the value of feminine art forms and the connection between craft and fine art.

A WAY Online Art Gallery

GlitchSeries04 - Crop_1_crop.jpg, Archival inkjet print and embroidery, 11 x 14 inches, 2019

GlitchSeries04 - Crop_1_crop.jpg, Archival inkjet print and embroidery, 11 x 14 inches, 2019

Glitch Series 04 is available for sale at A WAY Online Art Gallery for the next couple months, check out their website for my work and art by some other amazing artists!

Open Call - Submit your Story

Women’s stories surrounding pain will be chosen to be part of a conceptual art book project, mirrored with images of delicate handkerchiefs and embroidery.

Submit your anonymous stories and experiences of when you felt the need to hide either your emotional/physical pain in order to avoid pity or shame for being too sensitive.

Let us contradict the stereotype of women as pure and fragile by demonstrating the perseverance, dedication, and strength of women. 

Work in Progress - Funded Art book Project

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The past month has been jammed packed with many hours of cross-stitching, as I begun working on my project funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. First, I received my new embroidery stand and hoops in the mail. Second I fully prepped a piece of Aida cloth by securing the edge with stitches, to prevent fraying. I even marked the vertical and horizontal middles with stitches, which is something I rarely do!

For this project, I am creating an art book consisting of scans of my Ama’s original handkerchiefs and corresponding cross-stitched replications of each pattern.

I have chosen and scanned nine handkerchiefs, which I am converting into cross-stitch patterns. Using the patterns, I am cross-stitching nine embroidered pieces (approx. 6x6 inches each), which are scanned once completed.

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After each cross-stitch piece is completed, I will mirror the cyclical structure of a woman’s existence and allude to the concept of invisibility, by recycling the same piece of Aida cloth and the same strands of embroidery thread for each new pattern. I will unravel each completed cross-stitch replication and re-stitch the next handkerchief by reusing the same material.

The art book will consist of pages with a scan of a handkerchief on the left and a scan of the corresponding cross-stitched piece on the right. It will also include stories selected from an anonymous open call (Submit your story to be a part of the project). The stories will be examples from women who have had to hide or pretend that they were not in pain in order to avoid pity or shame for being too sensitive.

Throughout April, I completed three of the nine cross-stitch pieces. Each piece took an average of 25 hours to cross-stitch and 14 hours to unstitch. It’s weird to think that the only evidence of these works will be the final scans/images that will be included in the art book. Although it may seem unusual, it adds to the conceptual aspects of the work, by emphasizing the invisibility of the labour. This connects to the idea of women’s labour and pain as invisible.

I acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

 
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September 2020 - Update

Over the past month, I’ve been writing, painting, cross-stitching, and finishing two new video works. I’ve been working on my proposal, budget and supplemental responses for the Canada Council Research & Creation Grant. Now that I’ve received edits and feedback from a few peers, the next step will be for me to work on revisions.

I’ve also been working on the second painting in the Translation series, painting one 1/4 inch square at a time. I’ve been trying to figure out what the final presentation or form this series will take. I think I’ve landed on the decision to combine all 9 pieces into a stitched (quilt-like) grid. I’m interested in the juxtaposition of using the medium of painting and combining it with female craft-based processes. I’ll do this by using a needle and thread to hand sew the painted pieces on canvas together.

I completed another cross-stitch piece System Failure 02, which is part of a series of three I’m currently working on. The cross-stitched images are partially “unfinished” in order to give the appearance that it is “glitched”. I like to think of them as glitches within glitches. The second glitch or system failure refers to the glitch that occurs when the human machine (me, the artist) executes the project.

System Failure 02, 8x10 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2020

System Failure 02, 8x10 inches, embroidery floss, Aida cloth, 2020

Lastly, I’ve finished two new video works below. Part 1: Introduction - What Am I? interrogates the definition of artist, machine, and woman. The video documents a month long process where even rows of white thread are cross-stitched for a few minutes each day. At the onset of my menstrual cycle, I proceed to unstitch and undo all of the work that was done prior. There are pressures and expectations that come with being a woman and an artist. As a woman, it’s embedded in my biology to reproduce, but that doesn’t mean that I will. The audio track that plays throughout the video poses questions surrounding productivity and ponders what it means to go against what is typically expected of a programmed machine. As an artist if I’m not producing work, I often feel guilty, as though I am ignoring the very thing that I am programmed to do. Can I be an artist and a woman and not produce? Or does this go against the very nature of my existence?

Part 2: What Happens to a Stressed System? shows how societal pressures that come from being an artist, machine, and woman, can lead to an overwhelmed system that is doomed to fail. The video begins with a functioning system of productivity, consistency, and archival documentation. As the video progresses, glitches begin to integrate and disrupt the flow of the system in both the video and audio components of the piece.

July 2019 - Update

  • Glitch Series 03

  • Solo Exhibition: I Come From a Long Line of Machines

Glitch Series 03

This past month I’ve been spending approximately 20-24 hours per week cross-stitching whenever possible. Why, you might ask? I was determined to finish Glitch Series 03. I’m happy to say that I did it! This series will be framed in 18x24” frames, each cross-stitch and glitch image is approx. 5.5 inches. I’m so happy to have another series under my belt, but I’m also looking forward to completing Glitch Series 04 which is currently in progress.

Solo Exhibition - I Come From a Long Line of Machines

Only a month away till my solo exhibition: I Come From A Long Line of Machine at the Ranger Station Art Gallery, in Harrison, BC. If you haven’t made any August long weekend plans, why not make a day trip out to Harrison for the opening reception on August 4th, starting at 2pm? The show will include Glitch Series 01, a new series of Instruction Tables, The Machine: Knitting Ouroboros, Think Like a Human Act Like a Machine, When I Cross-Stitch I Feel Like a Machine, and a few other Glitch Series pieces!

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