Jess De Wahls

Jess De Wahls is a UK-based textile artist known for her highly intricate hand-stitched embroideries exploring themes of feminism, misogyny and gender ideology. She is originally from Berlin.

Today

Jess De Wahls

The art world isn’t free

Artistic freedom is often treated as a modern ideal, but history tells a more complicated story. From religious patronage to online outrage, the boundaries of art have always been shaped by power. Speaking at a recent event hosted by the campaign group Freedom in the Arts, singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy said: The creative soul of this country and indeed of Europe has always thrived on discomfort, on the freedom to be wrong, to offend, to pivot and to surprise ourselves. Without that freedom, we don’t get better art, we simply put artists into a chokehold and suffocate the life out of our culture. We need free inquiry and open debate. The arts must breathe freely again.

Thursday

Jess De Wahls

How I was stitched up by the Royal Academy

Recently I found myself cancelled by the Royal Academy. It was a strange affair, and this is how it happened. I’m an artist who makes a living out of creating intricate hand-embroidered portraits and flowers. I was working in my garden one afternoon last month when a glance at Instagram took me aback. My friend Laura was defending me against… well, I didn’t quite understand who or what. Laura was at work and couldn’t talk, so it was only later that evening that I began to realise what was going on. It turned out that some keyboard warriors had mounted a witch-hunt against me with the intention of getting me banned from the RA, which sells my work in its shop. My transgression?