I have a solo exhibition opening in ArtMart Studios next week. It comprises work made in the aftermath of the death of a close friend by suicide. The work explores the difficulty I found expressing the feelings I was left with after this profoundly complicated death and includes embroidered images and text, photography and quilt-making.
I wrote this statement last year about the work:Fabric and the stitched word seemed the best possible way to communicate the horrific imagery left with me after this violent event. Embroidery gave the words and thoughts that were so difficult to say aloud a space to be expressed. Somehow the softness of thread and fabric, the beauty of stitching, the flexibility of the finished product and the comforting nature of textiles - we use them to clothe ourselves, to wipe our tears, to rest our faces on as we sleep - made textiles the best medium to convey the violence of the images, the nightmarish quality of suicide bereavement and the horror of the act itself.
The exhibition runs in ArtMart Studios, 7, The Mall, Sligo from 14-19 June, opening hours 11am-5pm. There is an opening on Saturday 12th June at 7pm. Please come along if you are in the area.The exhibition is not suitable for children.
