Candace Couse | Mr X Stitch

Candace Couse is a mixed media artist from Ontario, Canada. "Predominantly working with 2D painting/drawing, installation and video, Candace Couse explores issues surrounding space, place, and the body. Her work eagerly engages with the idea of personal geographies as intimate approaches to orientation and identity that are profoundly detached from collective knowledge and public geographies. "In her most recent work, Waste, she explores ideas of malady, the body, relationships and loss through the internal, and deeply private realms of the body. Resembling something in between soft and tempting medical charts that beg to be touched, and the cross slices of anatomical studies, these organs form relationships that connect, disconnect and leave wounds in a montage typically reserved for the world beyond the skin. "Couse earned a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada with Honours, 2008 and a Master of Fine Art at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2010. Her work has been exhibited across North America and in Europe. She has recently had the honour of completing Sick/Malade, a film with The National Film Board of Canada, was a finalist for the Primio Arte Laguna, an international competition organized by the Cultural Association, Modern Contemporary Art (MoCA) and been invited as an artist in residence with iaab in Basel, Switzerland and Artfunkl in Manchester, England. We've seen a few examples of people exploring anatomy through stitch, but I'm impressed with the breadth of Candace's work. From stitched illustrations through to full blown installation pieces, it's clear that she's on a path of discovery and it's great to see. As with many of these types of work, the use of stitch makes it easier to digest and address the content of the work, and Candace's use of thread and yarn clearly shows that she is comfortable across a wide range of media. Visit Candace's website to see even more of her impressive range of work. ----- The Cutting & Stitching Edge is brought to you in association with PUSH: Stitchery, the must-have embroidered art book by Mr X Stitch !