The red shawl was made over a five-year period within a decade-long liminal phase — contemplating, and finally taking, the step of divorce after twenty-six years of marriage. A liminal phase is a rite of passage, and the making became a meditative, ritualistic and transformative process.

Traditionally a shawl is a protective covering offering shelter and warmth; this one has solid and fragile areas echoing the fluctuating state of the marriage. Its embroidered patterning derives from DNA strands, cells, nerve endings, veins and neurons. The colour red references blood — a token of violence, but also the essence of life. Photographs: N Zimmer.