Common Thread—NCAD 2nd Year Textile Art and Artefact students

Ally McGrath, Aoife Mc Donnell, Karoline Osaland, Kate Lafferty, Leah O’Reilly

Common Thread is an accumulation and visual presentation of thoughts and ideas beginning to form through the various styles and processes that Textile Art and Artefact allows for. Unlike many other group exhibitions, the artists involved have not worked to a collective theme but are instead tied together by their use of textiles and textile art processes. This leaves much space in which ideas can form organically through each artist’s practice independent of each other but containing a common thread.

The span of themes and ideas present in this exhibition is widely varied. Work by Ally McGrath focuses on contrasts between patient repetition through mark making and the instant gratification and lack of concentration that extensive overuse of smartphones can induce. While work by Leah O'Reilly explores modern taxidermy with focus on the display of such "trophies" and a keen interest in the colour and pattern variants present in animals. The work of Karolina Osaland looks at the theme of modern technologies and artificial intelligence through the lens of traditional textile techniques. Kate Lafferty’s work explores ideas of cultural identity and evokes questions of how we value different cultures in an age of global migration. Aoife Mc Donnell’s work takes inspiration from natural forms and structures to give a new lease of life to used, emptied materials.

Common Thread presents a view of the current ideas and processes being explored and considered by these 2ND Year TAA students as they discover and begin to shape what will be an ever changing and growing practice. Such an experience also affording them the opportunity to not only show but discuss such work.