Face Value

Introduction

Growing up I remember trying to reflect on my life to try and find the answers to what I am feeling. As a grown up, there is so much of my past that I have struggled to remember. Whilst figuring out what I wanted to make for this exhibition, I created pieces that gave me the chance to join the dots and figure out who the past is to me, the versions of mother/daughter that no longer exist, that I wish never existed, that I long for. 

This was mostly done by looking at a small stack of photos my mum gave to me recently. We didn't have the money or resources to have a camera when growing up, so almost every photo is either taken by my nan, or by a chaperone/dance teacher/elder from my time of being a child dancer/performer/princess. I have been told the story of a bulk of photos getting lost when we moved house - this didn't bother me until my brother passed.

Experiment - 2026 - A photo of me (centre) as a child performer, age 7/8

This is the first exhibition I have taken part in where there is so much guilt and confusion in my work. I often find myself having conversations with the children of parents where on paper it feels like, on a personal level, that not enough ‘bad’ happened to them for their feelings/the way they navigate life/the loss they have become so used to, to make sense. 

It was hard for me to know what to create when I don't know who I am as the child of a mother and as an adult with no relationship to their childhood. I decided to use scans of the photos given to me, to meet myself, piece things together and join the dots. 

I am consistently moving between guilt, love, loss and resentment. 

Corrupted Voicenote 1 - September 2025 - created during Rogue Residencies

I have made peace with the fact that I wasn’t born to be a daughter.

I wasn’t born to be a daughter - January 2026

Making 

Creating through the eyes of a daughter, looking at their mother began in September 2025. 

Weaving old/unliked work together to create something new. For a long time I had no reaction/response/emotional attachment to the work once created. These pieces are all to do with the process. 

“Cutting, weaving and making something from ‘bad’ art really soothes me. I find myself humming and stimming through the process, my brain gets to figure parts of itself out without me having to think. To me, all of these pieces and all the others similar where I paint, cut, stick, weave, scan feels like the physical embodiment of my neurodivergence. They are super tender with all of these hard edges, creating a home for the failed attempts.”

Experiment - 2026 - Weaving the Debris

Choosing to create in a way that is soothing, whilst using a new medium (scans of photos I have no connection to at face value) resulted in working through such a strange energy. I was anxious but it felt familiar. On reflection, it felt exactly like my childhood. 

I decided to print the photos that included my mother, my brother and myself on card that had dye experiments on it. 

These dye experiments are part of a long term project where I will be writing a statement as an attempt of dedicating myself to the role of daughter for a set amount of time.
Since making Face Value, I haven’t been able to start this process.
I think I need a little more time. 

Experiment - 2026 - Joining The Dots

The Process 

3 printed photos alongside the dye tests were cut up, some based on what felt good and others with more intention. In the process I found myself deciding what I wanted to show and hide. The main photo is of my mum holding me after giving birth in hospital. My printer smudged black ink over my face, that ink didn't get anywhere else though? There always seems to be these flukes in my work. 

Strips are hole punched and tied together in ways that made sense in the moment. Once the paper was in, more yarn was added. Having loose parts of a material that is more traditionally used for weaving with the photo/dye paper felt necessary. 

It’s also not lost on me that weaving often represents cycles and relationships. There seems to be something sacred and feminine about weaving. I didn't find weaving because of this, but it does seem fitting. 

Once the weaving was made, it felt necessary to find a way for the viewer to see themself looking in the same way I felt whilst making. I think being able to see yourself looking at a piece of art creates some sort of strange portal. 

Face Value is a personal and literal reflection of fragmented understanding, memories and emotions of daughter-hood.

Thank you to The Feminine Urge Collective for inviting me to be part of this exhibition.

Face Value, 2026