This embroidery is based on the beautiful painting of Helen of Troy by Evelyn De Morgan. Helen’s convoluted classical myth fits perfectly into the show’s theme of ‘Sex, sexuality and ur experience’ just as nicely as it does within my urge to reconsider classical ideas of female beauty using our actual female experiences.

 

Defamed by some for preferring to fuck on top, Helen is the archetype of a misogyny directed against ‘the beautiful evil’ ~ portrayed in the Euripides’ play ‘Helen’ yearning to be ‘wiped clean like a painting and made plain instead of beautiful’. Though she was often referred to as the most beautiful person in the world, her portrayal always contains an undernote of disdain for her pernicious beauty and her ‘whorish’ nature. 

 

Kneeling within her bed of rose bushes, my Helen instead tries for a utopian appreciation of oneself that is fantastical but also grounded in fierce self love. Liking ur own body is so hard to do, and sometimes it takes capturing that perfect selfie moment to make u truly appreciate urself. Just like the >hundred hours that I’ve spent embroidering this piece, self love is about WORK and working hard to get to that self-loving point.

 

From my bedroom to urs: The most beautiful woman in the world (is urself)❤️🌹

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