The Extra Mile

Back when cigarettes hung from the lips of the desirable, and we knew the mascots by name. Today, bylines are seared into our memories, and men still wish to be Camel Joe.

Crewel Intentions is a collection of textured, saturated portraits inspired by editorials and advertisements from Playboy magazines from the 1970s.

I have been collecting Playboys for nearly two decades, ever since I stumbled on one in an antique warehouse at 19 in Brisbane. I wanted to explore the imagery in the magazines I had been collecting for nearly two decades, but instead of imposing a predetermined meaning on the collection, I allowed myself to explore what emerged in the process of making. It feels easy when embroidery is a calm, meditative indulgence in the present. While flipping pages, reading and reimagining these images, I found myself in a time warp. Old images on textured paper, photos taken on film - adverts of outdated products, images of people, who might now be frequenting knitting circles, all reimagined, recoloured and reshaped in thread.

I felt the passing of time, the shifts of beauty standards. I ruminated on my own ageing. Through all this, the most incredible part is that no matter how different things look, we are the same.

Although I’m surprised this is still available, I’m not sad that this piece might become a studio stud. He can stare at me all day.