Power of No
wall art
Project Details
Year:
2026
Size:
45x45 cm
Series:
Power of No
Tags:
Project Description
Power of No. Wall Art
Power of No is an ongoing series of hand embroidered textile wall works exploring refusal, grief, anger, and emotional resistance. Drawing on the myth of Medusa as a silenced female figure, the series reconsiders expression as a form of power rather than weakness. The faces are stitched in grey, black, and white tones, surrounded by dense layers of textile fragments, cords, threads, and raised embroidery that form the word “No” or suggest rope-like restraints. The visual language is direct, uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore. Through these works, Ksenia Semirova creates a dialogue between personal emotion, collective pressure, and the viewer’s own interpretation.
Medusa Myth as a Starting Point
I began with the myth of Medusa — not as a monster, but as a woman whose voice was taken from her. Punished, controlled, and turned into a warning, she became a starting point for exploring how power can grow from trauma, and how refusal can become a form of self-preservation.
The first work in this direction was a corset inspired by a 17th-century front-lacing silhouette, with a back-side embroidered composition centred on a screaming face. After the corset was shown in several exhibitions and received a strong response, I decided to develop the project further — no longer as embellishment for the body, but as stand-alone textile wall art.
Power of No is now an ongoing series of hand embroidered textile compositions about emotional resistance. The works respond to pressure, grief, anger, silence, and the need to say no — whether that response comes from personal experience or from what is happening in the wider world. For me, these pieces are not only portraits of emotion, but also a dialogue with the viewer. I hope each person, especially women, can find their own reading within them.
Sorrow
45×45cm, HaNd Embroidery, Mixed Techniques
A greyscale face with closed eyes and visible tears forms the centre. The expression is quiet but heavy, holding emotion inward. Hair spreads into rope-like strands, carrying the repeated word “No” within them.
Part of the Power of No series, this work draws on Medusa as a silenced woman and reflects on the emotional weight of control, punishment, and grief.
Despair
45×45cm, Hand Embroidery, Mixed Techniques
A screaming face forms the centre of the work, caught in an intense moment of emotional collapse. Hair spreads into rope-like strands, carrying the repeated word “No” within them. The expression is raw and immediate, shaped by emotional pressure.
Part of the Power of No series, this work draws on Medusa as a silenced woman and focuses on the emotional impact of control, punishment, and loss of voice.
Power of No
45 × 45cm wall panel
In Power of No, stitched portraits emerge from layered black textiles, cords, threads, and raised embroidered surfaces. The faces are worked in grey, black, and white, while the word “No” and rope-like details interrupt the compositions as both visual structure and symbolic pressure.
Rooted in the myth of Medusa as a silenced female figure, the series explores the moment when emotion becomes refusal. Grief, anger, and vulnerability are not hidden here; they become forms of resistance.
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