i bare it all yet still they do not see

Courtesy of Eliose Tilbury

My textile installation work ‘i bare it all yet still they do not see’ interrogates the paradoxical relationship between the commodification of female bodies and convenience culture within contemporary capitalism. This is achieved through my engagement with slow craft where I construct representations of lumps of flesh from hand dyed, embroidered fabrics.

Slow craft challenges obsession with productivity targets and overconsumption. The work does not begin with the embroidering of the fabric but instead the preparation of a range of vegetables which are slowly processed into homemade fabric dyes. I am methodical in my preparation of the produce: peeling, cutting and boiling.

The fabric is then scoured to remove any oils or waxes that accumulated during the manufacturing process. The fabrics are immersed in the dye, dried, and cut into smaller portions. Delicate stitching is embroidered by hand onto each piece. These are sewn together into individual bags and suspended on meat hooks.

The work does not end here, it continues to grow, actualised by the repetition of these processes over and over again. My work embraces the mistakes that occur when experimenting with materials and processes and creating something by hand, thus acting as a challenge to capitalist obsessions with productivity and perfection. This slow process of artmaking also functions as resistance to the culture of instant gratification and convenience that manifests in sex and relationships.

With the rise of porn and the exploitation within the industry, the sacred aspect of sex has been overlooked and sex has transformed into a transactional experience. Women often become nameless conquests, as though they are pieces in a butcher, ready to be portioned for sale. I meticulously craft these sacs of ‘infected flesh’ to represent this commodification. The work is paradoxical in that hours of dyeing, embroidering, and stitching are spent in order to represent capitalist ideals of convenience, commodification, and instant gratification.

Courtesy of Eloise Tilbury

Designed by Portia Love