Historically, the depiction of drapery in art has functioned as a metaphor for what remains hidden beneath the surface. As a subject, drapery foregrounds the dualities and fragility of conditions inherent in our surroundings and existence. Through the drawing of fabric folds, thresholds emerge between concealment and revelation, intimacy and publicity, the everyday and the staged.

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Friess’s drawing process is often based on assemblage. She merges different draperies into new ‘Gestalten’, drawing from two primary sources: an archive of photographs documenting the surgical draping of bodies in operating theatres, and fabrics staged and arranged in her studio.

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Her practice is informed by a topological approach to drawing, tracing a possible presence of a body beneath the cloth through the constant and precise repetition of ink lines. These deliberate marks contrast with the unpredictability of ink stains, which emerge by chance during the drawing process. Falling onto the paper as accidents, the stains form imprints on the textile, emphasising a bodily presence.