The Who, Quadrophenia

Embroidery stitched directly through a vinyl record sleeve. 

12x12x2 inches, framed in acrylic.

     Released in 1973, Quadrophenia was an album whose tracks held a larger meaning collectively. The double album actually inspired the making of a film of the same name. The name Quadrophenia refers to the diagnostic term schizophrenia, to reflect the four distinct personalities of the opera’s protagonist. It is also a play on the term “quadrophonic sounds.” The visuals for the album cover is the back of the main character of the story standing on a motorcycle surrounded by smoke. The pictures of the band are hidden in the rear view mirrors of the motorcycle and the text surrounds the main image on all 4 sides. Since the image is black and white with lots of swirling smoke I decided to embroider this with multiple layers of abstract tonal threads. I used different threads; wool, cotton, rayon and polyester. The different threads create nice textural variations. The lettering was created as patches and then mounted to the album last.