Textiles

My art practice shifted in 2020: my comics became more tender and tactile, taking the form of embroidery, wall hangings and eventually to my ‘quilted comics’.

Textiles gives me the opportunity to slow down, take care of the work I’m creating, and in turn take care of myself. It’s a transformative process, and like transitioning, is worth the wait. I love drawing parallels between the cotton stitches, to the sutures on my body from my top surgery, and using embroidery to show the connection and the adornment of my trans body.

Reaping (2020)

  • Reaping is a small interactive embroidered comic made up of two embroidered portraits of Samuel at two stages in his life. The current day Samuel opens down to reveal his childhood self, looking at peace.

    Since transitioning and having top surgery, Samuel feels more connected to his childhood self. Having his flat chest returned to him helped him feel more at home in his body again. As Samuel reflects on his journey and collects these memories, it brings back a part of him he thought was gone. His childhood self is very much alive, and he carries them with him as he transitions into adulthood.

    Reaping was created during October 2020 for Adam Pritchett's #Stitchtober2020 on Instagram. This work was Samuel’s first “embroidered comic”, as he ventured out from flat printed digital comics, to bound comic books, to tactile textile pieces. It became the starting point for Samuel’s current artistic practice, combining Samuel’s love for comics and the tenderness of textiles.

    Hand embroidery on calico, cotton, neodymium magnets. 22.5cm x 17.5cm

  • 2023 Unravelling Queerly, Australian Design Centre, NSW

    2021 Soft Artifacts, Goodspace Gallery, Chippendale, NSW

Feels Like Home (2019)

  • Feels Like Home is a hand painted t-shirt that I created in 2019, one year after my top surgery, to honour all those moments of euphoria of putting on a t-shirt after top surgery.

    There’s truly nothing like putting on a t-shirt and finally feeling at home in your own body. I’m so grateful and honoured to have this body. I don’t think I’ll ever get over that this finally feels like home.

    Hand painted worn cotton shirt, 45cm x 75cm.

  • 2022 Gender Euphoria Looks Good On You, Packing Room Gallery: Sock Drawer Heroes HQ, Petersham, NSW

    2021 Gay Boy, Imperial UP: The Imperial Erskineville, Erskineville, NSW

This White T-Shirt (2020)

  • This White T-Shirt is a hand embroidered garment reflecting on the seemingly simple act of wearing a white t-shirt after top surgery, and the heavy significance of all the moments leading up to it.

    In the trans masculine community, a white T-shirt is often a rite of passage garment. Outlines of a chest binder are visible underneath a white T-shirt, and it often draws attention to a bound chest.

    Samuel has hand embroidered black text on a white shirt he has only worn after having his top surgery. Samuel is deeply interested in the idea of adornment to the body, making parallels between stitches on worn garments and sutures on the body. Through its tender and tactile nature, embroidery brings Samuel closer to his transness, it allows him to be patient, to take things slow and reflect on how far he’s come.

    Hand embroidery on worn cotton shirt. 55cm x 72cm

  • 2023 Unravelling Queerly, Australian Design Centre, NSW

    2022 Gender Euphoria Looks Good On You, Packing Room Gallery: Sock Drawer Heroes HQ, Petersham, NSW

    2021 Gay Boy, Imperial UP: The Imperial Erskineville, Erskineville, NSW

    2021 Goodspace 6th Birthday, Goodspace Gallery, Chippendale, NSW

Detail of ‘This White T-Shirt’. Photo by Rhiannon Hopley, at Unravelling Queerly, ADC, 2023.

[A portrait rectangle textile embroidery artwork on black cotton, with pink blue and white details. The background is black, with a border of royal blue fabric, with pink stitching at the edges. On the left side an arrangement of 11 pink and blue roc

Vessel (2021)

  • Vessel is a hand embroidered comic about reconnecting with my childhood self and feeling at home in my body again after having top surgery. An embroidered illustration of my childhood self stands back-to-back with my current self, as I reflect, and collect memories from my childhood. I carry these memories with me into adulthood, but I also let some of them go, as I continue to grow. My flat chest has now returned to me, and I have a similar sense of ease of being in my body again, like I did when I was a child.

    This work is embroidered on calico, using black cotton fabric as a background, with hand dyed blue cotton fabric borders. It features handmade “rocks” made from air-dry clay and painted with pink and blue acrylic paint, sewn onto the fabric like beads. There are 11 rocks on each side to represent age 11 being the last time I had a naturally flat chest, and 11 was the date I had top surgery (11 September) and started testosterone too (11 April).

    Thread, clay, embroidery on cotton. 30cm x 35cm

  • 2023 Unashamed, Artspace Chatswood, Chastwood, NSW

    2022 Gender Euphoria Looks Good On You, Packing Room Gallery: Sock Drawer Heroes HQ, Petersham, NSW

    2021 Gay Boy, Imperial UP: The Imperial Erskineville, Erskineville, NSW

    2021 Good To Be Back, Goodspace Gallery, Chippendale, NSW

Stitches and Sutures (2022)

  • Converse ANZ sent Converse All Stars an Indigo Dye Kit and challenged us to reimagine style, refresh & rework our old garments & shoes to give them new life! - in celebration of the launch of their new Renew Labs Store in Fitzroy (Melbourne, Australia).

    I indigo dyed an old t-shirt and some old fabrics which I cut up and made into little patchwork stars. I then appliquéd them onto the shirt, and also onto my indigo dyed Converse.

    On the shirt, I embroidered a little self portrait and words about tending to my worn garments, and taking care of my trans body. Drawing parallels between sewing stitches, surgical sutures and a second life worth living.

    Text on the shirt says “I mend this garment. And give it new life. In the same way. I tend to my body. The stitches and sutures. Hold me together. While I find my place.”

    I love combining textiles and storytelling. It’s important to me to use the materials I have, repurpose them into a new narrative, and cherish the new creations.

    I used a lot of this renewed fabric from this indigo dye workshop in my ‘Baby Blue’ quilt (shown below).

Dyeing Process Video: 

  • First, I indigo dyed a lot of old cotton T-shirts and calico tote bags that were either stretched out, stained, discoloured, or just sitting at the bottom of my drawers.

    It’s important to use what clothing/materials we have, to mend them, and repurpose them, into something new we can continue to use and love wearing.

Creation Process Video: 

  • I love combining textiles and storytelling. It’s important to me to use the materials I have, repurpose them into a new narrative, and cherish the new creations.

    I cut up some of the dyed fabrics into stars, and appliquéd them onto my indigo garment and renewed Converse Chucks.

    I embroidered a little self portrait and a little message about tending to my worn garments and my trans body. Drawing parallels between sewing stitches and surgical sutures. A gentle nod to my trans experience and the delicate nature of a second life worth living.

    Text on the shirt says “I mend this garment. And give it new life. In the same way. I tend to my body. The stitches and sutures. Hold me together. While I find my place.”

Baby Blue (2022)

  • Baby Blue is a hand painted, hand quilted indigo dyed quilt made from repurposed fabrics about growing up as a tomboy, and how those boy-ish experiences help me affirm my gender in my memories now since transitioning. It features moments from my childhood, and some important gender transition milestones.

    As a trans person, my childhood & adolescent memories are not always affirming of my identity/body/self today. I tend to pick and choose certain childhood memories to hold onto, and which ones to let go of. Growing up as a tomboy and having lots of boy-ish experiences now help me affirm my gender in my memories since transitioning.

    Baby Blue is about renewing those old memories, looking back on them and seeing the boy I was, sewing them back together, to form an affirming narrative that reflects who I am today. I made this baby quilt to comfort my younger self. To show him there is a future where he can be his authentic self. I loved incorporating textile terminology in this quilt and relating it to my gender transition. It’s so tender and tactile, and it shows how much I still care for the young person I used to be.

    Indigo dyed handmade cotton quilt. Quilt size: 80cm L x 93cm H

  • 2023 Unravelling Queerly, Australian Design Centre, NSW

    2022 Mighty Real: Clifford Chance & Glamazon Pride Art Exhibition, M Contemporary Gallery, Darlinghurst, NSW

Baby Blue’s Sibling Quilts (2022)

These smaller wall hangings were made from the quilt offcuts of Baby Blue. They were all created at the same time as their big sibling, Baby Blue.

They feature one moment or memory from the larger quilt. All patches are hand painted. All Sibling Quilts have new homes now.

Lizard

  • Lizard - A young Sam age 3 crouches next to a tiny lizard in the grass. I’ve always loved small things and small creatures. One day I found a little lizard, all alone. I said to my Nanny, “What would his Mummy say?”. It’s a precious moment from my childhood that’s been remembered by others and repeated back to me so many times, it’s become a little legend in itself.

    19cm x 23.5cm x 1.5cm

Overalls

  • Overalls - A young Sam with a mushroom haircut wears a pair of overalls. I loved wearing overalls growing up. I used to called them “oberalls”, and collected rocks in the front pocket. Overalls are so tomboyish, paired with the mushroom haircut, is peak 90’s baby and overall, a very gender affirming outfit.

    21cm x 22cm x 1.5cm

Star

  • Star - A little hand points to a diamond star in the sky. Growing up I adored the children’s book “The Tooth Fairy” by Shirley Barber, 1995. The Tooth Fairy collected your tooth, and placed it in the night sky as a star. I remember a time when I lost a tooth as child, looking up at a single gold star out the front of my childhood home, and knowing it was my tooth. My parents told me a story of another time where I saw a light in the night sky on Great Keppel Island, and insisted it was my tooth too.

    19cm x 23cm x 1.5cm

Vial

  • Vial - This is a vial of testosterone. It’s for a second puberty, and was vital for me to have this little vial for my medical transition, to authentically be present in my body again.

    20cm x 21cm x 1.5cm

Scar

  • Scar - Reflecting inwards, and reconnecting to my body after top surgery. Feeling aligned, finally at peace.

    This quilt does a gentle nod to its little sibling quilt, Star. Scar and Star both point, one outwards, and the other inwards. Both pinpointing moments of wonder and of ease. One in childhood, the other in queer adulthood.

    25.5cm x 32.5cm x 1.5cm

Forged in Trans Magic (2024)

Forged in Trans Magic is a series of quilted wall hangings celebrating transgender masculinity and key milestones from my own transition. Inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts and the escapism of fantasy, the works draw parallels between magic and the transformative experience of gender transition. Made from repurposed fabrics, the quilts weave together comfort, personal storytelling, and symbols of transition to honour trans lives and imagine hopeful futures.

Exhibited in the Annex at .M Contemporary, Jan 16-30, 2024.

Forged in Trans Magic

  • This is the ‘hero’ quilt of the Forged in Trans Magic series, celebrating transgender masculinity and milestones from my own transition. It features two swords, with their blades inscribed in Roman numerals with two key dates: the day I started testosterone and the day I had top surgery. These swords, inspired by Excalibur from BBC’s Merlin, symbolise resilience and the forging of identity through the challenges of transition. The little dragon at the top is modelled on a childhood figurine that has accompanied me through every home, adding a personal touch of continuity and magic. Made from repurposed textiles, the quilt weaves together storytelling, comfort, and trans joy.

    96cm x 116cm

    Cotton quilt, fabric paint, wooden rod

Binding Spell

  • Binding Spell is part of the Forged in Trans Magic series, using quilted textiles to celebrate transgender masculinity and milestones from my transition. The quilt features a spell book casting spells for positive queer trans futures, surrounded by “ingredients” for transitioning. A real chest binder is sewn onto the quilt, while all other fabrics are repurposed from bedsheets, clothing, and second-hand scraps. Vines and chains weave through the work, symbolising constriction, pain, growth, and the eventual freedom of breaking free.

    101cm x 118cm

    Cotton quilt, fabric paint, chest binder, wooden rod

Vials for Transformation

  • Vials of Transformation is part of the Forged in Trans Magic series, celebrating transgender masculinity and milestones from my own transition. The quilt presents testosterone vials as magical potion bottles, representing the transformative power of medical transition. Syringes filled with testosterone are positioned along the sides, echoing the placement of swords in another quilt, while the corners feature tiny band-aid patches used after injections. Made from repurposed fabrics, the quilt weaves together personal narrative, magical symbolism, and trans joy.

    141cm x 93cm

    Cotton quilt, fabric paint, wooden rod

Forged in Trans Magic’s Sibling Quilts (2024)

These smaller wall hangings were created from the offcuts of the three larger quilts in the Forged in Trans Magic series. They were made alongside the larger works; sharing the same materials, processes, and origins.

Trans Magic

  • 35cm x 70cm

    Cotton quilt, fabric paint, chain

Binding

  • 35cm x 35cm

    Cotton quilt, fabric paint, chain

Vial

  • 28cm x 35cm

    Cotton quilt, fabric paint, chain