Foetus in an Avocado
Thread on hessian, oil on board 84 x 33.5cm
2012–2017

I worked on this piece for four years before deciding how I would mount it. Originally, the piece was simply a textile composition of a foetus, using Leonardo Da Vinci’s studies of foetuses as a starting point, created by building layers of thread on thread with a sewing machine.

As time progressed, I began referring to the piece as the “Avocado Baby”, as in my mind the compact position led me to imagine that it was tucked inside a stone in an avocado. This idea developed into the sewing of a stone with avocado flesh around the foetus and eventually I created an avocado shell out of chicken wire and hessian, painted in oil.

The wooden chopping board (oil on board) and knife (also textile and thread) were then built up to give the final impression of an avocado, cut in half to reveal a foetus in a stone.