All Tied Up came from wanting to explore restraint in a way that felt intentional and gentle rather than aggressive. The frame was important to me from the start. I painted it by hand with vines and flowers and added real dried florals so it would feel soft and organic. Once everything was in place, I sealed the frame so the materials would hold up over time and remain part of the piece rather than something fragile.
On the canvas itself, I kept the painted background simple so the woven rope could take focus. I cut small slits into the canvas and threaded the rope through by hand, working slowly to get the spacing and tension right. It was a careful process and took patience, but that physical act is a big part of the work.
What I like about this piece is the contrast — rope and flowers, tension and softness. It looks at kink through a lens of care, choice, and beauty rather than shock. For me, it’s about control and vulnerability existing at the same time.
This piece was created for The Super Naughty Show in Toronto, which pushed me slightly outside my usual comfort zone. Even so, the intention stayed the same as my other work: exploring self-love, identity, and how we relate to our bodies, even when the subject matter sits in spaces people don’t always talk about openly.
