Threads of Memory

Threads of Memory

W 20 cm x H 28 cm 

Created shortly after my mother's passing in 2023, this abstract embroidery is a personal reflection on memory rather than a portrait. Instead of depicting a likeness, I chose colours that reminded me of her in earlier years, weaving together fragments of remembered places, objects and moments into a richly layered composition.

Small symbolic elements are scattered throughout the work, some inspired by her career as a draughts-woman and others incorporating pieces of her own clothing. These details are not intended to tell a complete story but to create a quiet dialogue between memory and material, allowing personal associations to become part of the fabric itself.

Built through layers of free-motion machine embroidery, stitched textures and mixed fibres, the work evolved intuitively, much like memory itself—fragmented, overlapping and often returning to unexpected places. It is less about loss, than about acknowledging a life, and the enduring impressions that remain long after someone has gone.