Nomas* Projects / Art, Dundee

Cut-Stitch

Sue Beveridge

Artist Statement:

‘Cut Stitch’ is a series of 5 cross-stitches by Sue Beveridge on the theme of Female Genital Mutilation (F.G.M.) It is based on the idea of samplers that mothers traditionally make when their children are born. Using these engaging and exposing pieces in a non-confrontational way, she is aiming to raise public awareness about the issue of F.G.M.

They feature British and African images highlighting the cross-cultural issues found with F.G.M. Three of them are challenging some commonly held myths about F.G.M. and the other two show the cross-stitch in its original state and then in a distressed form.

This latter one was the subject of a film that Sue showed as part of her final Masters exhibition at DJCAD in 2017. It shows her ripping up the writing with a razor blade and a needle.

She would like to thank Julie Fielding , Sam Phillips and Suzie Marr with their help creating and sewing the cross-stitches.

Sue Beveridge is a socially engaged artist. She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a degree in Sculpture in 2012 and an MFA in Art, Society & Publics from DJCAD in 2017. Her aim is for her art to be transformative, not only for herself but for the viewer and participants and for it to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Her work falls into two strands. The first area of her practice is responding to the human rights issue of Female Genital Mutilation, the subject of this exhibition. Her second area of interest is in working with bread dough, specifically looking into the benefits of using bread dough as art therapy. This combines her previous work as a counsellor with her experience of this medium. She has conducted workshops with special needs and socially deprived clients and plans to continue exploring the value of bread dough therapy.

Poster Image Credit: Jonathan Liddell

Artist's Webpage:

• suebeveridge.com/