Traces of Desire
The acanthus has meant endurance and punishment, immortality and pain — it holds contradictions as naturally as it holds its own curling form. Here, William Morris's scroll winds across the body of a man whose proud stance already defies the concealment his era demanded. The embroidery does not illustrate his desire so much as make it visible: each coil of leaf a record of what had to stay hidden, the pattern insisting on beauty where the culture insisted on silence.
The model is Tony Sansone (1905–1987), an Italian-American credited as the first male physique icon and a foundational figure in the fitness revolution. His nude photographs were taken in the 1920s and 1930s.
Each finished piece in The Queer Thread collection is approximately 5" x 7" (12.7 cm x 17.8 cm). The vintage photograph is transferred to dense weave cotton and embroidered with cotton and Japanese gold thread. The image is mounted on art board and floated in an 8" x 10" (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm) black frame. Please contact Paul for pricing and availability.
