‘Adornment’ is inspired by the painting ‘Trompe -l’oeil’, a menagerie of exotic birds by Dutch 18th century artist Abraham Busschop, painted on the ceiling of Dordrecht Museum, one of the oldest art museums in the Netherlands. It depicts Aesop’s fable of the raven who steals other birds’ feathers to adorn himself. Each feather is a meticulous study of intensive observation: shifts of colour, varieties of texture, movement, rhythm and hidden patterns.

The story behind Adornment is about accepting yourself as you are, you don’t need to take someone else’s feathers to shine; your own uniqueness is enough. Adornment invites viewers to pause, tracing the link between perception and creation.

I deliberately disrupt the tension of the stitching, allowing loose threads, unexpected marks and decay to become part of the work. The fragmented wing questions ideas of beauty and adornment, while its story is ultimately about self-acceptance.

100 × 120cm - 2025