Flame

Embroidery on ink-jet printed photography. 2016

The photograph was beautiful on its own- my friend Clyphe, his hand outstretched towards the lens, bathed in a harsh light. But something was missing. It felt like a gesture without an offering. In 2016, I was experimenting with embroidery on photo prints, and I stitched a flame into his open palm.

The threadwork turned the photo into something else entirely. Suddenly, it wasn’t just light on skin- it was light from him. A casting flame, delicate and powerful, flickering in shades of dark blue, green, red, yellow, and orange. The kind of fire that burns hottest at the center, just like a blue-tip flame.

Without the embroidery, the photo captured a moment. With it, it became a story.