In the dusty corners of flea markets, tucked away in forgotten boxes, lie the ghosts of moments past. Anonymous faces stare out from brittle photographs, their stories silenced by time. But for Dallas-based fiber artist Han Cao, these cast-aside images are not endings but rather new beginnings. With a needle and brightly colored thread, she pierces the surface of these vintage photographs and postcards, stitching new life into them and transforming them into intricate visual narratives.
Her solo exhibition, Second Nature, kicks off the new year at Art on Main Gallery in East Dallas, running from Jan. 15 through Feb. 7. The collection is a poignant exploration of memory, identity and the quiet ways we integrate the world into our inner lives. Through delicate embroidery, Cao reimagines the histories embedded in everyday snapshots, suggesting that seeing is never passive, but an act of constant re-creation.
Cao’s artistic journey began not in a studio, but at home, influenced by her Vietnamese upbringing and her mother’s work as a seamstress…