M/OS(S)MOSIS

Where does one body end and the next begin? What does it feel like to spread like moss and gently encompass a surface? Can embroidery – with its slow, reflective pace, and textile likeness to biomass – introduce us to the ancient teachings of moss? As one of the earliest land plants to emerge from the waters, some 470 million years ago, mosses have shown incredible aptitudes for resilience and adaptability. Their practical properties, which have long been intuited amongst indigenous and non-mainstream cultures, range from insulation to medicinal uses, and they are known indicators of air quality.

Be it from a design or a metaphysical perspective, we still have much to learn from the realm of plants. This creative project advocates for a hands-on, tactile-based and intuitive approach to embroidery-making and moss-becoming. Through the creation of a pair of sheer gloves, hyper realistically embroidered with a range of mosses, I seek to bridge an artificial gap between species and come to embody the very existence of another, more-than-human being. For this project, I have chosen to mainly use the split stitch (for its versatility of use), which will be sewn onto a nude, silk organza fabric.

How does one come to know the spirit of another being? By thinking and feeling with moss through the creative and embodied act of embroidery, I strive towards a gradual process of osmosis: a tenuous and care-full multispecies co-becoming.

Materials used: Cotton embroidery floss, silk organza, living moss, plaster, bark

My entry for the Hand & Lock Embroidery Prize 2022 consists of a single glove, adorned with samples of living moss and further embroidered with an assemblage of moss inspired patterns.

This piece has been inspired by my awakening to the magic of moss and to the transformative potential of its vegetal teachings in a time of profound socio-ecological uncertainty.

It responds to a longing for touch and connectedness, and a desire to overcome artificial hierarchies and species divides through tactile, embodied practices and mutual learning.