Initially inspired by paranoia, this project grew to represent anxiety as a whole. The feeling of being watched unwillingly, of like there’s a sickness in you that just hasn’t made itself known yet, of not being able to see, the feeling of being trapped and frozen and being unable to breath. The backdrop is an upcycled naturally dyed (gallnut, cutch, iron, soda ash, citric acid) silk charmeuse that has been embellished and distorted through hand-smocking, hand and machine embroidery. A flatbed knit ‘spider’ web stands before it. I used hand knit cables in long strips to twist and connect everything together and lure you further into the piece – trying to gauge what’s actually there. All is emphasized by rayon roving dipped in bioplastics hanging and swaying, and crystals have been grown on the hand-knit cables – freezing an otherwise flexible material.