Layers of Meaning

Carol Shinn's photo-realist embroidery

Scrapheap Challenge: Carol Shinn's photo-realist embroidery
Carol Shinn :: photo-realist embroidery

Carol Shinn has received international attention in the past few years for her groundbreaking photo realist embroidery techniques. Her subject matter tends to be old cars or other derelict remenants of the consumer society. Shinn begins with a photo or mulitple photos, which she then sandwiches together to form a single image. Using her sewing machine, she proceeds to create a dimensional embroidery of the image.

This 2002 article in Embroidery magazine had this to say about her technique; "In order to stitch the many layers necessary to arrive at these complex images, Shinn sets her sewing machine with the feed dogs lowered so that she is in complete control of the position of the fabric and the density of the stitches. The rich surfaces that build from the layering of numerous coloured threads cover the entire canvas base. Shinn notes this dense, all-over effect is similar to cross-hatched lines across the surface of a drawing paper. In fact, it is her love of drawing, evident in her command of proportion and detail, which first led Shinn to embroidery. The hand of an artist competent in her command of line, form and composition is certainly evident in her second chosen medium of thread and stitch."
image by Carol Shinn