"Bodies of Desire and Envy" Embroidery

Title: Bodies of Desire and Envy

Subject: ‘Bodies of Desire and Envy’ was inspired by the old master painters of the Renaissance, particularly Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon. Many of his artworks depict naked or half-naked bodies (female and male) interacting. ‘Bodies of Desire and Envy’ shows only male bodies and the theme is about identity and the relationship between genders. Nevertheless, there is playfulness and parody too with male characters displaying female behaviour.

The scale of the artwork is big enough to show all the details of the different techniques and accessories added. The half-transparent fabric allows me to play with diverse colour skins. However the fabric used had so many holes in it, it was quite difficult to work with. The sewing machine sucked the material down and ripped the threads. This was a setback in my work.

Media and Technique: Fabric and threads. Sewing machine stitches, ‘trapunto’, appliqué and hand embroidery techniques.