Threads: Material, Myths & Symbols

How cultural associations with thread shape our perceptions of fate, life and power

The thread is an interesting thing. Formally, it can be described by a beginning and an end, and a certain stability, flexibility, and mobility. A thread rarely exists as a “thing in and of itself”; rather, it seems to await its actual use as a “thing in order to”. A great deal of symbolism is entwined with this inconspicuous object: it can stand for human life itself, as well as for the success of that life, and thus, like the myths spun around it, touches on existential questions.

Threads highlights these questions and layers of meaning by offering the opportunity to individually explore a wide variety of ideas and answers. It combines examples of the tools of spinning and weaving, classical mythological representations, and contemporary works of visual art that use the thread as a metaphor, model, or medium and make either the thread itself, or images of it, tangible as a means of artistic expression for the conditions and possibilities of life. In this way, Threads opens up conceptual spaces for reflection and association between the poles of fate and responsibility, trust and scepticism, power and powerlessness, and individuality and collectivity; Threadsbuilds bridges from antiquity through the present into a possible tomorrow.