Sophia Narrett transforms thread and wool, materials usually reserved for practical uses such as mending clothing, into scenes reminiscent of Victorian age paintings. These narrative based pieces feature bodies in various stages of movement, often dancing or lunging. These scenes seem peaceful and agrarian until closer inspection. At second glance the pieces become incongruous, as unclothed figures are sprawled and crumpled among figures that are fully clothed in formal, prim Victorian attire. This juxtaposition of formality with carnality produces an eerie effect. It is as though the viewer has walked in on a scene from Midsummer Night’s Dream but is not aware of the plot of this famous Shakespeare play.
Narrett presents the viewer with layers of subversion: what is in the style of a classic oil painting is actually made from materials commonly encountered in a domestic setting. What seems like a scene of natural bliss is actually disturbing. Many have drawn a feminist interpretation from these pieces. In an interview, Narrett confirmed, “Of course, the embroidery connotes the tradition of embroidery as women’s work, as well as the feminist artists who subverted that history, while the paintings carry the weight of or are bolstered by the history of painting.”
Narrett has an upcoming solo exhibition, “This Means Northing” in New York at the Art + Leisure gallery that runs from May 30 to June 28th.
h/t: Creative Boom & Space538