‘Unheimlich’ (2025)

Selected by the Hamilton Gallery for inclusion in Bloodroot (The Hague & Sligo).

Created in response to the poem, ‘Six Ways to Wash Your Hands (Ayliffe, 1978)’ by Annemarie Ní Churreáin from her collection, Bloodroot (2017, Doire Press).

In ‘Unheimlich,’ I explore the threshold between the seen and the unseen, blurring the lines between reality and the uncanny. By photographing a vintage floral curtain and printing it onto cotton, I create a tangible, tactile representation of the fragile boundary between public and private spaces. The hand-stitching, echoing the traditional feminine practice of embroidery, serves as a metaphor for the invisible threads that connect our daily lives to the unknown. Just as the stitches weave together disparate threads, so too do our experiences and memories shape our understanding of the world around us. In this work, the curtain – often a symbol of separation and division – is recontextualized as a witness to the secrets and stories that unfold behind its folds. The vintage floral pattern, once a staple of domesticity and femininity, is here transformed into a site of mystery and unease. Through this hybridization of photography, fabric, and stitchwork, I aim to evoke a sense of unease and discomfort, drawing attention to the ways in which our perceptions are mediated by the very things that surround us, particularly those imbued with domestic references. By making visible the unseen forces that shape our lives, I hope to challenge the viewer’s assumptions about what lies beyond the veil of reality.