We all play different roles in life. Rossella Bessega, born near Venice, Italy, in August 1966, has so far been a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and, for as long as I can remember, a dressmaker.

Born from a desire to bring order to years of fragmented dialogue and unspoken thoughts, "Dressmaker" is a collaboration started in 2021 between my mother and me, where photography, video, text, performance, and embroidery allow us to move beyond the conventional image of motherhood and affirm her chosen identity: that of the dressmaker.

For my mother, making clothes transcends mere necessity; it was, and still is, an act of self-expression. The humming of the sewing machine is vividly etched in my childhood’s memory, as are her quiet words saying that she felt more like a dressmaker than a mother.

By wearing the clothes she created over time, and by bringing photography into her daily life, we begin to inhabit each other's languages and craft. Embroidery and performance become ways to rework both past and present. Through the process, I am no longer only a daughter, and she is no longer only a mother. We are a photographer and a dressmaker.

Dressmaker challenges idealised narratives of motherhood and aims to open space for women, and especially mothers, to reclaim the complexity of their identities beyond caregiving, and in doing so, celebrate the strength and complexity of being a woman.

For further info please contact me at carolacappellari.hello@gmail.com

Installation view

‘GRANDA’ curated by Antonio Grulli & Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) 

Bevilacqua La Masa Gallery, St. Mark Square, Venice, Italy 

04.10.2025 - 23.11.2025




© Photo credits: Giacomo Bianco