Our 7th annual exhibition Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse: Don't Be Absurd asked the 117 participating artists - more than ever before! - to reflect on Absurdist works by Beckett, Kafka, Camus, Saramago,  and de Beauvoir. Through the works created for Don't Be Absurd our artists explored how they connected, interpreted, and presented absurdity within the constraints of a circular shape and fiber art.

Our ninth Q&A roundup features Alison Stein, Daniela Reis, Eileen Braun, Evania Sempeles, Lottie Emma, and Melissa Zexter.

Is this your first time being in The Women Pulling at The Threads of Social Discourse exhibition series? If yes, what drew you in? If not, how many have you been in - and what are your thoughts over the different editions?

Alison Stein: Yes, this is my first time. The combination of fiber and feminism with absurdity and Kafka was basically impossible for me to resist!

Daniela Reis: Yes, it's my first time. The extremely interesting text in the call for artists. I’ve always incorporated fiber and various materials into my painting practice, and this is a wonderful opportunity to further explore and expand the tactile dimension of my work.

Eileen Braun: Yes, this is my first time exhibiting with The CAMP Gallery. Artist friends told me about this fabulous exhibition of work.

Evania Sempeles: Yes, this is actually my first ever entry into a gallery. I typically make art for myself or friends. I use embroidery/cross stitch art as an outlet from my highly analytical science career in Embryology and I  deeply connected to the prompt: women, fiber, & absurdity.

Lottie Emma: Yes this is my first time. It really is absurd how I was drawn so intensely to this year's theme of absurdity! Life feels crazy these days. Has society gone mad?! Those in power certainly have. I was drawn to responding to these themes from my personal experiences. I've only recently discovered this fibre exhibition, and the title itself speaks deeply to my soul. Textiles represents a thread through time of care and repair, and in a time when everything feels so broken, being part of an exhibition empowering these traditional methods of care to rip open the seams of societal issues is exciting. I'm also excited to have my work exhibited internationally for the first time, as part of such an exciting fibre exhibition. I'm excited by the incredible textiles artists I've come to find through CAMP gallery.

Melissa Zexter: Yes, this is the first time being included in the exhibition.

Each edition of this fiber series asks artists to respond to particular literary classics, who did you select for this year and why?

AS: I selected The Metamorphosis. It's a story I have thought about often in recent years - how we are expected to basically keep going, uphold social conventions and most of all work expectations-- regardless of truly alarming developments that seem like it would require least a pause on quotidian activities. (This Vox headline and subhed from 2021 sums it up well: The world as we know it is ending. Why are we still at work? From the pandemic to climate change, Americans are still expected to work no matter what happens.)

DR: Blindness, by José Saramago. I first encountered his books when I was very young—around 14—and they had a profound impact on me. Blindness is extraordinary: intensely visual, deeply sensorial. I chose the character of the Doctor’s Wife—the only one who retains her sight amidst the horror and dehumanization.

EB: I have a positive outlook on life. My take on Camus In order to exist- (wo)man must rebel, and Beckett’s Try again. Fail again. Fail Better. In my art making I rebel and face risk-failure with “ If it feels risky-it’s inspiration”. I look at experimentation with frequent unintended results as opportunity. To forge ahead reveling in unknown territory. I use unconventional materials in my artist practice, rebelling by using an overlooked material for its environmental impact and to embrace & explore what circumstances has gifted me. Accepting failure as not an end to my creative practice. But a road less taken.

ES: In exploring fertility and its emotional complexities, I was inspired by Camus’ The Stranger and Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Fertility is deeply personal, and nature’s indifference to our desires often creates profound emotional conflict. Meursault, in The Stranger, drifts through life with an indifference that mirrors the impartiality of nature. Just as he refuses to assign meaning to events or consequences, nature remains unmoved by human desire—whether for or against fertility. Women’s fertility is tied to the notion of a biological clock, a quiet but relentless force shaping life choices. Some struggle for years to conceive and may never succeed, while others, seeking to avoid pregnancy, are bound by social, cultural, or legal constraints. Kafka’s The Metamorphosis captures the de-personalization that can emerge in this in-between state of fertility. During these times of uncertainty, such as waiting on a pregnancy test, your body can feel as though it belongs to the void of the unknown, suspended between two possible lives. In such moments, control feels out of reach, and one becomes subject to the randomness and absurdity of nature.

LE: Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis As a mother of a special needs child, navigating systemic failures, neglect and societal issues, I deeply connected with the idea of metamorphosis. The dehumanisation of invisible labour and the expectation that the system holds over a woman is exhausting and, at times, feels like we are a sacrifice for society. A feeling of entrapment -like being stuck in a vermins body.

MZ: Kafka- Metamorphosis
For over 20 years, I have been combining embroidery with photography. I sew by hand directly onto photographs that I have taken, combining a traditional practical skill, embroidery, with a modern and mass reproducible process, photography. Similar to Kafka’s exploration of absurdity and reality in his book, Metamorphosis, many of my embroidered photographs explore the intersection of reality, dream, and absurdity. In questioning reality or what is “real”, by altering and fracturing my photographs by embroidering directly onto the surface of the image, the inner world of the sitter/ person being photographed becomes more surreal, revealing an absurd inner world. The construction of my multi-layered images involves many levels. First, I take the photographs, then interact with the images, and lastly manipulate the generic qualities of the photographic print.

In Metamorphosis, Kafka explores the concept of reality being a superficial layer that masks a more unconscious and strange reality. I could say the same about my photographs. My images are composed of layers of sewn webs, that often obscure the “objective” nature of the photograph. The world is not always as it seems, a person captured by the pressing of a shutter on camera doesn’t really capture reality or the human condition. Through my manipulations of the image’s surface with embroidery, the photographs become unique, no-longer reproducible objects. In exploring the surreal and the absurd, I unmask what is hidden beneath a superficial reality.

The embroidered photograph that I created for the Absurd exhibition at CAMP gallery is a black and white photograph of a sitting female nude holding a vase of flowers. Although the initial image was a traditional looking photograph, I tore several other photographs into smaller pieces and layered therm on top of this one. The fractured images were sewn together, and a zig zag pattern of colorful sewing fills
the photograph’s surface. The masking, fracturing, and mapping out through multiple layered images and embroidery questions the idea that the person in the photograph is not what we see upon first glance.

Kafka’s characters in The Metamorphosis are caught in absurd situations and cannot change their conditions. My embroidered portrait photographs are hand-crafted, unique photographic objects that are no-longer reproducible objects. My altered photographs explore ideas of alienation, beauty, and memory.

What do you feel about the shape constraint?

AS: It's interesting -- when I'm working in paint I often like a round canvas, but for fiber I feel pretty repelled by a circular shape. In part, it's because i don't like to work in an embroidery hoop -- I prefer to tension my fabric with my hands, and if I need additional tension I'll use a frame. But mainly it's because my work pushes against the historic perfectionist approach to embroidery, and many embroideries that take that approach will end up in a circular shape, framed in a hoop. For this piece, though, I didn't mind it -- I thought it worked well with the notion of a badge. Also because I work modularly, creating fragments individually, I didn't really think about the shape until I started to work on the composition. However, I found myself really enjoying this larger circular substrate -- the interplay of woven fabric, which by its nature has straight lines, and the curved edges of the background fabric was interesting to me. I will probably use it more often now.

DR: It was a beautiful challenge and it reshaped my practice and my work surface. 

EB: I usually work in a large format. It was a challenge to shrink down. I love a challenge.

ES: The shape constraint immediately triggered the idea of an embryo art piece. Because of that instant connection after seeing the Open Call, I was inspired to start sketching and ultimately apply to the exhibition.

LE: It was interesting to work with a given shape. I often let the shape of my work unfold organically as the work comes together. I found myself continuously reaching for my ruler to keep an eye on the size, which in some ways relates back to the constraints and conformity in Kafka's text. It was an interesting approach to work like this.

MZ: I have been embroidering on photographs for over 25 years and the shape that I usually embroider onto is usually rectangular or square. While at first, I didn’t completely understand why the circle was necessary, I eventually enjoyed the challenge, and it forced me to rethink the presentation of my work with the absence of a more traditional frame.

At the gallery, we are always interested in knowing how the actual process of making the work affects you - please explain, if you can, what is on your mind while making your piece?

AS: This piece was built around the particular vintage girl scout badges that I selected -- as mentioned above, I worked one badge at a time, deciding on how I wanted to respond to the imagery. I also looked up each badge's requirements so I could select text to go with each badge, so that was on my mind as I was working. I was often dwelling on the tension between the desirability of the behaviors encouraged by each badge -- good manners, for example -- and their troubling aspects, for example, is it safe and wise to teach children to make other people's comfort their top priority?

DR: I chose to create two different works that speak to a sense of hope and courage—because to look, and to love, is becoming a true act of revolution. I try to find fabrics with the colors and textures that evoke the feelings I’m searching for, that resonate with the emotional landscape I want to express. I reused fabrics that friends and family gave me, leftovers from their wardrobes and family houses. I am expanding the life of this fabric, bringing its memories to my paintings.  

EB: I spend a great deal of my time preparing my materials. Turning a fragile tissue into a fiber-yarn or cleaning and cutting a salvaged agricultural cord to become a usable fiber. The very base of my sculpture is knitted using just my hands-no other tool. This is a very meditative process and when in the “zone” it’s just me and the art. My mind is quiet. Likewise, when the next step of forming the flat goods into what I hope is an elegant form I am thinking about movement, light, shadow and texture.

ES: I spend over 40 hours a week directly concerned about the safety, quality, development, and outcomes of our patients and their reproductive tissue. This is a full time job, but thinking and reflecting about families and their desires and struggles often lasts past the regular work hours. One of the first things that I notice is the patient's age. There are two trends that I have noticed: patients under 30 that have diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) or recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), and patients who are over 40 and are ready for a child but cannot conceive naturally. The first group, young patients with DOR or RPL, should theoretically be at a prime age for reproduction. However, due to the inherent unpredictability of human fertility, they have found themselves needing medical assistance. The second, patients over 40, may now be at a financial or social point in their lives where they feel supported during the process of growing their family. However, due to the increased incidence of chromosomal abnormalities in oocytes over 35 years of age, their reproductive potential for a genetically "normal" pregnancy decreases significantly. These trends had me think about my own reproductive future, so much so that I had my blood drawn to check my own fertility levels. Every day I learn more about our patients, I realize that their struggles could be any of ours. While making this piece, I ruminated on the randomness of the genetic lottery and the pressure of the Biological Clock.

LE: The soft pink piece is an embodiment of emotion. It is how I was feeling. It's a refusal to give up -literally- when free machine embroidering 2 slippery surfaces together and filling the cavity with stuffing is driving me nuts! It's fiddly and hard to manoeuvre the bulges around the foot of the sewing machine. There was an element of relief in finishing this soft shell-like armour! It's hard to know what the end result will be when the material is being manipulated like this, so it is an exciting process of transformation. The mask-like piece is a raised eyebrow middle finger feeling. Hours of hand embroidery builds up around the piece, creating a fuzzy texture from the mohair wool. It's almost like the face behind the feeling of the soft armoured piece.

MZ: When I am creating, I try to clear my mind from extraneous distractions and just focus on coming up with visual solutions to construct a final composition.

What inspires you?

AS: I'm very inspired by materials -- in this case, a collection of vintage girl scout badges that I found in an antique mall.

DR: I draw inspiration from everything: life itself, books, music, long walks.

EB: Gosh. Everything. Literally.

ES: I'm inspired by the science underpinning reproduction; the quiet, behind-the-scenes beauty of an expanded embryo or a successful embryo transfer.

LE: Hope inspires me alongside finding the little pockets of joy in life. I'm also inspired by the outdoors and listening deeply to the hum of Mother Nature. Music inspires me and feeling someone's energy through words and sound. Nostalgia also inspires me, being reminded how wonderful elements have shifted and shaped our lives.

MZ: Live music, the sea, analog photography, antique buttons.

Can you let us know about three fiber artists who have helped shape your work?

AS: Iviva Olenick (I was lucky enough to take a class with her many years ago, she opened my eyes to the artist possibilities of embroidery). The fiber works of Louise Bourgeois, especially her fabric books and masks. El Anatsui, for incorporation of unconventional materials. And while I almost never can know their names, the countless folk embroidery artists from all over the world.

DR: My amazing friend Elda (Kapulana San) that can inflate life and love into every piece she makes, Adriana Varejão (not a fiber artist but a master in combining textures and painting), Vanessa Barregão who is a master in color and texture.

EB: Bronwyn Oliver, Olga de Amara’s, El Anatsui.

ES: I was first drawn to making scrappy fiber art after visiting an exhibit at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, Virginia. The primitive quilting on display impressed me with its technique and tradition, but what truly inspired me was the more modern quilts. I loved the use of bright color and the sense of playful spontaneity, a kind of loosely intentional art shaped by happy accidents. However, I can’t say that I follow
any particular fiber artists. As I get more into my art hobby I would like to expand my network and get to know different artists and their unique styles.

LE: Paul Yore - I am forever inspired by his boldness and brilliance.

Kasia Tons - I've had the good fortune of being mentored by Kasia. Her intensive use of hand embroidery and found/used materials speaks deeply about care, the environment and social issues. The way she puts her colours together and creates these incredible artworks is amazing. 

Jennifer Pettus -I have recently discovered her through CAMP gallery (along with many other exciting textiles artists). I love the whimsy, otherworldly elements of her work and how aesthetically exciting they are. I value the time consuming stitch processes and keeping these old traditional elements alive and exciting.

MZ: Lola Cueto, Lenore Tawney, Anni Albers.