Smile Studies I – Stitched Burlap
A hand-stitched burlap relief with metallic embroidery. I explored the relationship between textile labor, emotional construction, and the performative nature of the smile. The rough woven texture naturally carries associations with labor, trade, survival, storage, and wear.
Smile Studies III – Denim and Button
I chose denim and buttons because both materials carry strong associations with everyday life, memory, labour, and identity. I intentionally selected worn denim so the material would retain evidence of use, faded seams, frayed edges, pocket outlines, and visible stitching.
Exploring the emotional, psychological, and social complexities hidden within the act of smiling.
Smile Studies Series
Smile Studies II – Wool and Wire
I chose wool and wire because of the contrast both materials naturally create. Wool carries warmth, comfort, tenderness, and human softness. Wire introduces restraint, structure, and control. Smiles are rarely perfect; they carry memory, exhaustion, healing, tension, and survival beneath their surface.
Smile Studies IV – Jacquard, Pearls and Rusted Wire
I wanted the smile to appear visually inviting yet emotionally complex. I was drawn to the contrast between delicate materials associated with beauty and harsher materials that suggest decay and endurance. The rusted wire symbolizes time, erosion, survival, and emotional wear.
Sole Inheritance & Carry Me Home
These works explore what we carry, emotionally, culturally, and historically. Shoes and bags become vessels for memory, ancestry, and identity.
