Exhibition: It All Starts With a Thread

Explore thread as a method and metaphor for connection, collaboration and conversation in this exhibition by ten students on the MA degree in Curating Art and Public Programmes jointly run by Whitechapel Gallery and London South Bank University.

In the aftermath of the global pandemic and successive collective anxieties, there is an evident need for new forms of communication and embodiment. Digital fatigue and radical changes to pace of life have led many artists to seek more tactile, slow and mindful ways of working. Focusing on thread as material and method, this exhibition reflects the collective desire for comfort, embodiment and connection both in process and in content.

Selected works by emerging artists weave together the personal and collective, exploring themes around social fabric, repair and togetherness. Raisa Kabir’s House Made of Tin (a socially distanced weaving performance) (2020) is created, by, for, and from BIPOC, disabled, and queer participants. The produced weaving is a sculptural visualisation of interrelationships and an allegory for support networks. Fikayo Adebajo’s String Figures (2022) explores issues of reparative justice, and what repair can look like at the institutional level. Bella Howard’s The Chain (2022) is a tender conversation with the artist’s inner child, a private moment of healing. Additional artworks on display include Julia Dèng Hànzú’s Con-Current: Tuning Intervals (2022), Katarzyna Perlak’s Bated Breaths (2020 - ongoing), Tilda Scarlett’s The Weaving Room (2022) and Lu Williams’ curated zine library.

It All Starts With a Thread centres collaboration and process. In addition to the listed works on display are the products of several workshops held over the summer. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Collective held a session of collaborative knitting for wellbeing; starting with a single shape, the group knitted outwards, creating a work titled Safety Blanket. Gut Feeling ran a writer's workshop, producing a quilt as an alternative take on a ‘publication.’

Visitors to the exhibition are invited to rest and relax in an open and accessible space, spend time reading zines from an artist-curated library, finger knitting with companions, explore the artworks through audio interpretation and pick up an interactive activity sheet to delve deeper into the subject matter of the show.