The two photographs were part of the Clara Nartey exhibition at the Anderson Gallery and Maxwell Library in the Fall of 2024. These images were taken to demonstrate how the artist uses thread as a method of drawing.

A line can be the edge of a book, or the curve of a sculpture’s hand, or machine stitches. My work explores using machine stitches in non-traditional ways. Not as a fastener to hold layers of fabrics together, but rather to draw lines, to shade and to color. My fascination is with how to push the concept of a drawn line with machine stitching.

In my explorations, I discovered that drawing with a sewing machine is similar to pen and ink drawings due to how the two art forms make you commit to every mark you make. As a result, I’ve developed a drawing technique with my sewing machine similar to pen hatch marks. The sewing machine needle acts as my drawing instrument (the pen), the threads my inks, and the fabrics my drawing surface (paper).

My portraits examine issues of identity and culture especially as they relate to women and how society passes judgement based on one’s appearance specifically one’s hairstyle. Can individuals separate who they are from how they look? Is society right to judge you based on what’s on your head rather than what’s in it? How do people choose to respond to this dynamic – conform or rebel?

-Clara Nartey