The embroidered portraits are an attempt to examine how we see ourselves and how we see other people.

We all approach other people with a predetermined set of historical and cultural expectations. Expectations are placed upon new acquaintances, strangers on the street, and even onto our most intimate friends.

We also create our own masks. We attempt to “be seen” in a certain way. We may wish to be noticed, or to blend into the background; whether consciously or through some internal defense mechanism.

In creating these portraits, I wish to present a part of the subject that might not be visually apparent; an emotion, an appellation, or a concept that is part of an individual.

As part of the design process, images are digitally manipulated to a point (or past a point), in which they no longer resemble the original “model". I attempt to create an “every-man", in which many different people can be seen in one image.

The surface is compromised, we can “see” what is beneath. We have a way of navigating a space, exploring an undiscovered (hidden) world. Possibly enabling a path to really seeing the truth within a person.