ABOUT
Sheena Liam (b. 1991, Malaysia) is a contemporary textile artist whose work redefines the traditional boundaries of fiber art. Known for her minimalist hand-embroidered works, Liam explores themes of identity, femininity, repetition, and resilience.
Working primarily with dark green thread on raw canvas, her practice examines the material and symbolic qualities of embroidery through restrained composition and subtle texture. By stripping back color and decorative motifs to isolate her subjects, Liam puts process and visual materiality front and center. This deliberate, labor-intensive hand-sewing functions as a tactile human counterpoint and artistic resistance against digital automation.
Long braided hair frequently breaks the plane of the canvas as a recurring visual element, functioning simultaneously as intimate portraiture and a broader meditation on femininity, surrealism, and subversion. Ultimately, Liam positions embroidery as both a visual journal and a deeply process-driven form of contemporary art.
Sheena’s first solo exhibition debuted in October 2018 at Item Gallery, a contemporary art space closely connected with the fine art printing house Idem Paris.
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Group Exhibition, “Don’t Touch My Hair”, Hannah Traore Gallery, New York
2024 Group Exhibition, “Paint, Print, Repear”, Adda Gallery, Ibiza
2023 Group Exhibition, “Leaving Traces”, Hin Bus Depot, Penang
2022 Group Exhibition, “Everything has Changed, Nothing Has Changed.” Temuhouse, PJ
2020 Group Exhibition, “Lemonade Stand”, The Naughton Gallery at Queens, Belfast
2020 Group Exhibition, “Propositions inédites 3”, Item Gallery, Paris, France
2018 Solo Exhibition “Times New Romance”, Item Gallery, Paris, France
Selected Press
2020 The Guardian, “Hair-raising: embroidered female portraits”
2019 Design Boom, “Sheena Liam, model and embroiderer, sculpts her hair with loose thread”
2018 Juxtapoz, “New Embroideries and Solo Exhibition "Times New Romance" at Idem Paris.”
2018 Colossal, “Hand-Sewn Portraits by Sheena Liam Capture Quiet Moments of Self Care”
2017 Teen Vogue, “Interview With Model and Embroidery Artist Sheena Liam”
2017 Colossal, “Hand-Sewn Hairstyles That Cascade From Embroidered Hoops by Sheena Liam”
2017 i-D, “Sheena Liam’s incredible embroidery art features handmade hair”
Selected Publications
2024 Broderies- Anthologie curieuse by Audrey Demarre, Carole Martinez, Editions de la Martiniere
2021 Unraveling Women’s Art- Creators Rebels and Innovators in Textile Arts by PL Henderson
2018 de Fils en Aiguille, La broderie l'art contemporain by Charlotte Vannier, Pyramyd Editions