As part of our growing partnership with Leeds Arts University, The Art House presents Sophie Jones: A Tangled Thread.
Leeds-based artist and recent graduate of Leeds Arts University, Sophie Jones, presents ‘A Tangled Thread’, celebrating childhood mark making and exploring young parenthood at the intersection of hand-embroidery. A Tangled Thread is a new body of work and the culmination of a twelve-month project in which Jones directly stitched into their daughter’s felt tip marks, captured onto calico over two four-week periods.
Jones uses materials such as raw, unbleached calico and brightly-coloured embroidery thread to create playful, large-scale tapestries that embolden their child’s instinctive felt-tip marks. These works are deliberately unfinished and open to expansion and growth- in a manner reflective of childhood development.
Using processes of cataloging and documentation, Jones’ practice centres around a long-term collection of drawings assimilated and embroidered throughout their child’s early years. Each of the artist’s pieces is assigned an article number, before being recorded into a hand-embroidered book serving as a catalogue of works. The collection, entitled ‘My Child Could Have Done That’ consequently functions in a manner similar to a growing archive.
Taking these drawings out of the domestic context in which they were conceived, Jones invites us to challenge preconceived notions of how we value children’s drawings in a gallery context. The works encourage the viewer to gain a greater understanding of the potential for drawing as a form of early self-expression.
A Tangled Thread will be on display in our Learning Space from 2 November 2023 until January 2024.
Photos: Michael Godsall. Courtesy of the artist.
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