Follow the Thread

This exhibition brings together the work of five artists, from Wakefield and Leeds, who use textiles:

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Amelia Baron
Hayley Mills-Styles
Carrie Scott Huby
Judit Wilson.

Follow the thread is here for a few days during the showing of another exhibition, Off Grid by Sheila Hicks, which is on at The Hepworth Wakefield until September. Hicks’ work is innovative and ground-breaking, using textile materials and techniques that create a unique artistic language. Having a major collection of her art here in Yorkshire is a great opportunity to show some local, exciting textile art that deserves greater recognition.

There are many artists in this region who work with textiles. What connects this group is that they are all disabled artists. Some of them are members of DISrupt, an artists’ collective working to challenge disabling barriers and to make sure that disabled artists are taken seriously.

These artworks echo Sheila Hicks’ art, using similar materials or processes. For example, there are artists here who make small-scale textile pieces, who wrap objects with thread or who have created elaborate hanging textile sculptures. Others repurpose fabric, or sew intricate stitched lines and patterns that tell a story.

This exhibition is therefore inspired by Off Grid. However, each artist has developed her own style and approach independently. They connect and communicate through a shared language of thread and fibre.

Supported by Yorkshire Sculpture International, The Art House and The Hepworth Wakefield.

About the curator

Gill Crawshaw is a disabled curator based in Leeds. She draws on her experience of disability activism to organise exhibitions and events that highlight issues affecting disabled people. Gill is interested in the intersection of disabled people’s lives with textile heritage as well as with contemporary textile arts. She is a founder member of DISrupt, a collective of disabled artists in Leeds.