SOFT BINDS
APARTMENT-STYLE ART SHOW
WEAVES
COMMUNITY THROUGH THREAD
Words by Lily Moskowitz
Images by Kaden Bard Dawson
9.18.24
Images by Kaden Bard Dawson
9.18.24
TEN ARTISTS IN BROOKLYN TIED THE KNOT!?!?
Contrary to the current New York norm, this was not a polygamous wedding. It was, instead, an art display.
Last month marked the one-night-only debut of Soft Binds: Constructing, Supporting, and Connecting Threads, a salon style show exploring both physical and conceptual notions of attachment.
From literal installations of yarn to more symbolic expressions of social ties, ten artists wove their work into an intricately tangled yet stunningly cohesive conversation about tension and fluidity, delicacy and constraint.
Featuring pieces by Autumn Kidd, Cal Fish and Zaid Arshad, the exhibition spanned a range of mediums from photography and sculpture to sound design and textile experimentation.
Organ of Shame (left) and Chrysalis (right), Goldfinch Bolton.
Thread proved a versatile motif to unravel the sinew that holds together our bodies, our heritage, our intimacies and ourselves. Knotted sculptures of wire, hair, and floss from Goldfinch Bolton played with intertwined materiality in a textured display of tension and guilt. Titled Organ of Shame and Chrysalis, Bolton’s pieces asked attendees to integrate their own bodies into the work, remove a stethoscope strung onto the yarny form, and listen to recorded confessionals that felt as if to pulse from the woven intestines.
Other installments similarly probed this iteration of thread as interconnection between artwork and observer. Cal Fish’s presentation, titled Precipitation Sound Absorber & Soft Binds FM Composition, invited attendees of the show to wear headphones tuned into FM transmitters placed intermittently throughout the gallery. Movement throughout the space queued an immersive and invisible network of sound bites. Venturing through spoken word interviews, ambient beats, and recordings of ocean waves, Fish’s auditory installation tied a spatial bind between body and environment. Listeners could be seen tipping erratically sideways or tip toeing curiously across the tile in search of the next audio trigger.
Other installments similarly probed this iteration of thread as interconnection between artwork and observer. Cal Fish’s presentation, titled Precipitation Sound Absorber & Soft Binds FM Composition, invited attendees of the show to wear headphones tuned into FM transmitters placed intermittently throughout the gallery. Movement throughout the space queued an immersive and invisible network of sound bites. Venturing through spoken word interviews, ambient beats, and recordings of ocean waves, Fish’s auditory installation tied a spatial bind between body and environment. Listeners could be seen tipping erratically sideways or tip toeing curiously across the tile in search of the next audio trigger.
All Under Heaven, Autumn Kidd.
Left to Right: No 1 2 Hear My Prayer, Shamadhi. + , Danielle Gadus.
Made of Threads That Bind, Undone by Threads That Sever, Kaden Bard Dawson.
Organized by Danielle Gadus, Soft Binds marks a wave of DIY style exhibitions and the demonstration of art for art’s sake. Nothing on display at the show was for sale – from the devastatingly tender photo prints by Kaden Bard Dawson to the herbal infusions provided by Gray Area as a gesture of community nourishment. In stark contrast to the commercial focus guiding much of the highbrow art scene, the show focused on the binding power of art to foster connection and togetherness.
Contributing artist Goldfinch Bolton speaks to the link between non-institutionalized exhibition and uncompromised creative expression:
“I’ve always loved doing shows… in more DIY artist led/run spaces. I’ve found that it’s a much better space for the kind of art that I want to make and want to see. The institutional recognition of being in a gallery exhibition is nice, but there’s also just more things at stake like whether the works can sell and to whom, which can really distract from an artist’s goals of developing their craft and creating something that speaks to people. The kind of work I like to make doesn’t tend to sell, and I’m happy with that.”
Yearning, Ha Neal On.
Binding was proven to bridge solidarity and identity in some pieces, or knit entrapment and desire in others. Handwoven cyanotype hangings from Ha Neul On – titled Yearning and Empathy – utilized Korean jogakbo techniques to suggest lineage as tapestry. Drawing upon the artisanal traditions of their own heritage, On’s showings seemed to stitch their own artistic practice to those who came before them.
Twinned hair pieces from stylist Marin similarly evoked a feeling of togetherness through a literal joining of bodies. Appropriately titled Tethered, Marin’s display of two hand braided wigs forged a juncture between two wearers whose interlaced locks would necessitate harmony of step, a synchronicity of mind. Identities tangled, woven, frayed, knit tightly, pulled loose.
Tethered and Viewing Box, Marin.
Lasting one night only, the temporariness of the show created a bind of its own, bringing attendees into a fleeting space to practice the inquiry and introspection process inherent to engagement with art. Gadus’ intention with the curation of the show was a “cross-pollination” of the Brooklyn community, in which exhibitors’ invitations might bring together creatives who might not otherwise meet. Just as the featured works ventured through wires and cords, wovens and knits, the outcome of Soft Binds stayed true to theme: art as connective tissue. Between creator and creation, agent and witness, subject and object, love and loom.
