Spotlight on the Embroidery: Compression

Frankie, Compression, 2024

Compression Bra, Embroidery Thread.

In this artwork I embroidered onto a bra that I had to wear after I got liposuction and port removal surgery following my mastectomy. I have expanding implants, which meant that for approximately six months post-surgery I had to go into hospital to get my implants inflated with saline through ports which stuck out as lumps under the skin, on my sides, not far away from my armpits, until they were removed. I remember feeling so incredibly trapped in this compression bra. I felt like I had only just finished wearing my post-mastectomy compression bra, only to be squeezed into another one, and this time it extended down my arms and made me feel itchy and hot. I have embroidered where my scars are, where I no longer have feeling, where I have tingling sensations, where my sensation is altered in a way I cannot describe. The fact that I still don’t feel truly “safe”, as I am still at risk. I want people to understand that though I may appear “normal” because of implants and nipple preservation, there is so much more to it than how I look.