A Visible THREAD

seam collective presents A Visible THREAD; an exhibition which explores the visibility and invisibility of thread. Through their unique perspectives and a diverse range of textile disciplines, eleven seam artists have created new works to stimulate thought, connection and conversation.

The exhibition aims to encourage viewers to rethink their relationship to thread, be aware of its materiality, its sustainability, its possibilities, and limitations. Thread, as cloth, is woven through our lives. It surrounds us like a second skin. Yet, precisely because of these close connections, it becomes almost invisible to us.

Rooted in craft techniques, work made with thread has historically been seen as ‘women’s work’, private, functional, decorative, and safe. Cloth itself is still considered a gendered material and there’s a gender divide between ‘high’ art and feminised craft. Whilst thread was, until recently, barely visible as a medium in contemporary fine art, the current national and international upsurge in major exhibitions shows thread emerging as an exciting and radical medium for expression.