“The Conundrum” (2016), hand embroidery on found photograph, all images courtesy of Flowers Gallery London and New York
London-based artist Julie Cockburn transforms vintage photographs by embroidering across their surfaces, adding bright pops of thread to portraits that are either black and white or have faded over time. Using found images from eBay and flea markets, Cockburn obscures the faces of strangers, layering the portraits with multi-colored dots, geometric patterns, or ovals in varying gradients.