julie cockburn embroiders vintage photographs with threads of vibrant color

english artist julie cockburn takes photos found in flea markets, car boot sales and eBay, and embellishes them with the vibrant, playful and often touching addition of colorful embroidery. sometimes the smiling headshot of an anonymous gentleman, elsewhere the huddled gathering of a family photograph, cockburn’s multihued thread adorns and obscures the images, creating new and dreamlike compositions. 

‘honeymoon period 7’
all images courtesy of julie cockburn

each piece is meticulously hand stitched, ensconcing faces and landscapes in polka dots, lines and geometric shapes. investigating the narrative of the existing photograph through color, julie cockburn finds herself inventing and suggesting new histories for the individuals pictured. titles like ‘honeymoon period’, ‘the orthodontist’ and ‘mr. optimistic’ all suggest personalities, traits and secret stories articulated by the artist through her needle and thread. 

‘ideation’

the majority of cockburn’s photos date from the 1930s to the 60s. these, she finds, are the best to work with: ‘after that time, something happens to photographs,’ she tells the guardian, ‘maybe because more people have cameras and no longer go to studio photographers. with studio portraits, there’s a certain enforced naturalness that I can work with. plus, many of them are beautiful objects to begin with, hand-coloured and beautifully composed. that’s what I’m looking for: stillness and a kind of blank poise.’

‘the orthodontist’

‘close knit’

‘finding common ground’

‘the muse’

‘lineage’

‘whim’

‘madame pompadom’

‘the conundrum’

‘teenage angst’