Philadelphia-based artist Matthew Cox layers embroidery on top of medical x-rays to create these off-kilter unique pieces. Cox gets inspiration from the use of divergent materials, and the contrast between embroidered cloth and medical x-rays couldn’t be more sharp: hand-made labor-intensive versus machine-made and quickly produced; ancient and decorative versus modern and devoid of aesthetic intention, nubby textured versus slick.
The artist says, “For me, stitching has a nurturing aspect and acts as care giving or healing to the injured, a socially feminine sort of action, while the x-ray itself can be considered masculine and unemotional… As an artist who takes on tedious, labor-intensive projects, I am also reacting to the ever-increasing presence of photography in contemporary art – by introducing the process of labor over the quick, slickness of film.”
 |
