Sophie Strong is an embroidery artist from the UK.
“My embroidery subject is based on humanity, and extreme emotional circumstances. So many of my embroideries are of countries of conflict or oppressive government.
“The images are drawing based from photography used in newspapers. Without these photographers these embroideries would not exist.I enjoy creating new images using new composition, specific sections and altering the original colours. The pieces record specific, significant events in time.
“I used embroidery rather than a standard drawing material as I feel embroidery has more of a life line, and a sculptural element to it. I was originally trained as a sculptor, rather than being from textiles background.”
Sophie has made a bold start with her portfolio. The illustrative style of machine embroidery works perfectly with the content, evoking the graphic novels of Joe Sacco and Harvey Pekar.
There’s a real rawness to the work, and the colour bleeding adds to the effect. It feels like this work could have been made in the places it documents.
It’s early days for Sophie, and I’m looking forward to seeing how her body of work grows and evolves. Visit Sophie’s website to connect with her.
