Grace Vescovi

My research into the history of Western feminine aesthetics has focused on the symbolic cultural significance imbued in the domestic craft of doilies.

I use the complex hand-crafted skill of crochet to perform this delicate artistry and to unravel and challenge stereotypical associations with domestic crafts and their low cultural status. Doilies serve as a tangible embodiment of the history of Western/settler women's cultural work and hold a significant place in the history of the Western/settler domestic sphere, representing the time, skill, and creativity of women relegated to the role of homemaker. I perform this as a ritual to foreground the devalued labour of anachronistic housewifery and facilitate reinvention and preservation.

I use the colour pink, as a recurring motif in my work, to question the Western social constructs applied to the feminine. As an attempt to subvert stereotypes - soft, vulnerable, infantile, and fantastical - I use pink to embrace the fluidity and complexity of femininity.