Mayes’ sculptures explore concepts of masculinity using a domestic vocabulary often incorporating traditional crafts, such as sewing. Here, a series of neckties associated with the anonymous suit-and-tie ‘uniform’ of the professional man are transformed with a handful of dressmaker’s pins into blooming roses: colourful, exuberant, sensuous and intimate. The artist has observed of this work: 'Roses are quintessentially English. Their blooms perfume town, country and public gardens across the land. They are delicate things of beauty. They are tokens of love and affection. These roses, fashioned from gentlemen’s neckties, make reference to a colourful exuberance a city man might afford himself. The necktie is transformed from an item of a man’s professional wardrobe into something live and organic; with a twist of the hand they slip from something businesslike into something sensuous and intimate.' This piece was included in the exhibition 'Schmatte Couture', curated for Ben Uri by artist Sarah Lightman at the Rivington Gallery in London's East End in 2008.