In can there be softness, without comfort? Spiljak she explores themes of domesticity, substance abuse, violence and the effects of internalizing trauma. This is emphasized through the tangible arrangement of embroidered text resembling scarring, distressing and blood or red wine colour onto delicate sheer fabric mimicking flesh. Sewn in red, the fragmented poem excerpt comments on the dual circumstances of victims consumed by addiction internalized from personal grievances. On the other hand, the embroidered words “my body as a punching bag” act as a placeholder for the victimized families, friends, or partners affected second-hand by bearing feelings of exhaustion, anxiety, or existential dread. Due to isolation protocols, fear, violence, conflict and control were exacerbated in some households. This can be translated through the window projection, table and chair set-up recreating the domestic imagery of being behind closed doors – further inviting the viewer to immerse themselves “inside” of one’s home. Spiljak embroiders text on found fabric materials to make the correlation between domestic life, resistance and paying homage to the historical role of women’s artistry and craft in the household dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. With the utilization of transformative text, found materials and historical contexts, Spiljak reclaims the traditional nature of embroidery to aid in voicing the familiar grievances of addiction and as a way to process her experiences.

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