DOMINO WHISKER FOUND solace in stitching almost a decade ago.
Following her father’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s, the Dublin-based artist channelled her creativity as an outlet for emotional release. In the 8 years since taking up embroidery, Whisker has transformed her self-directed therapy into an incredible career.
Her beautiful hand-embroidered work has been featured in several group and solo exhibitions. Presently, Whisker’s work can be seen in person as part of Island, an exhibition at Dublin’s Hang Tough Gallery. There, one of her incredible pieces has been realised as a rug for this special exhibition which is raising funds and awareness for the Peter McVerry Trust.
“I am so thrilled to have started 2023 with the Island exhibition,” Whisker tells The Journal. “I’ve wanted to work with Ceadogán for so long and it has been such a wonderful experience working with them. My piece, ‘This is the Way Out’ comes from my Portals to a Better Place series that I started during lockdown. It’s about being stuck somewhere that I didn’t want to be and looking for portals to remove myself, even just momentarily, from where I stood.”
She continues, “A portal can be anything; a mirror, a photo, a series of clouds in the sky, something to just transport you from where you are to somewhere more beautiful or more comforting. I learned this from my father’s Alzheimers. He could be with me, lucid, one minute and in the next moment a million miles away with his Mum who had long since passed, or in California with the sun on his face. Instead of seeing this as a bad thing, I decided to learn how to do it myself. ‘This is the Way Out’ is what I saw when I got out of the storm I was in, and it was beautiful.”
As well as processing difficult personal experiences in her art, an integral component of Whisker’s practice is helping others. While hand-embroidered pieces make up the main body of her artistic expression, her portfolio also includes enamel pins and hand-stitched books. The different mediums for expression are unified by an overarching influence present across Whisker’s work.
“The most recurring theme in my work and biggest influence is death. I’ll never get over it. It baffles and consumes me and makes me question my own existence and beliefs daily. I have been trying to navigate and understand grief since I was a child when my first bunny died and this is my main reason for making art.”
It is often said that art, whether in the form of a book, song or painting, can have immense healing properties. For example, ‘The Swimmer Enamel Pin’, on Whisker’s webstore, is one such item that has helped create a sense of community amongst those who wear the badge. As described on her site, the badge is to “Remind people to keep swimming from rock bottom”. Furthermore, when someone purchases one of these pins, not only is someone forging a sense of solidarity but a portion of the money goes to Pieta House.
A problem shared isn’t always a problem solved. It can, however, lighten a load carried on one’s shoulders. Sometimes, it can be easier to share with strangers, as Whisker has experienced. “I was only in my 20’s when my Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and I became his carer. None of my friends were experiencing anything like that, so I found myself confiding in strangers in Alzheimer’s chat rooms more than I was in my friends and family. When you’re in a dark place you think you’re the only person in the world who is struggling. I started sharing my work and what my Dad and I were going through on social media out of desperation and it gave me the biggest and most beautiful support system, which I am grateful for every day. I think sharing your struggles is the best way of survival.”
There’s an extraordinary vulnerability woven into Whisker’s intricate work. As well as creating extraordinarily vibrant floral scenes or soaring birds, there are stark, confessional pieces that are equally commanding. To be open and brutally honest in her work is immensely important to Whisker. “Louise Bourgeois is probably my biggest influence. She was never afraid to express her deepest fears and anxieties. It is a gift to be able to express yourself through artwork, a privilege, and I suppose I don’t want to waste time making small talk, I’m always more interested in talking about the bigger, scarier things.”
One such work by Whisker in which she delved deep into her fears and anxieties was Notes to Self, a series of 24 hand-embroidered pieces compiled in a hand-stitched book. Included in the work, created throughout lockdown, Whisker shared everything from her nightmares and her hopes. In sharing this work, Whisker never feared the prospect of exposing her insecurities and dreams. Instead, she worried that her ability to present these thoughts wouldn’t meet her standards.
“I am a little bit of a perfectionist, so I am more afraid of sharing work that I don’t believe to be ‘perfect’ than work that is vulnerable.. but I am always humbly reminded that nothing is perfect, I certainly am not perfect and that’s maybe what brings people to my work in the first place. I would stitch the words “I AM NOT PERFECT” onto linen and then obsessively focus on my imperfect stitching.”
You can see Domino Whisker’s piece, as well as work by Dorothy Cross, Maser and more in the Island exhibition at Hang Tough on Dublin’s Exchequer Street until Thursday, February 5.
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