Delicate aims to reference the human impact of textile overconsumption throughout its supply-production-distribution chain, up until its disposal. Each step of this linear journey has a direct effect on the health of textile workers and communities, auguring a tenuous future for the whole of humanity.

The piece was created by stretching polyester satin onto a wooden circular frame. Every embellishment -from the fragments of lace, to each sequin, rhinestone and bead- was removed with surgical precision from existing garments. The composition was achieved by cutting the lace into figurative shapes and hand-embroidering each embellishment into place.

The action of scrupulous, painstaking removal and reassembly of the elements that compose the piece suggests a ritual whose rhythm and attention imbues the piece with the purification, gratitude, and harmony rooted in ritual practice.

The tiny scale of the salvaged embellishments evokes the workers and communities whose struggles are made to seem unimportant and small in the face of the predatory systems we participate in as consumers. These miniature pieces are embedded into a luxurious satin surface, like these individuals into our collective memory, honoring and elevating them.

The piece invites viewers to care more deeply and to practice mindful observation, translating that care into our daily habits and consumer choices.

Pierce’s studio work has long focused on figurative imagery and delicate dichotomies rendered in meticulous hand embroidery.