Common Thread

NFS 48" x 40" x 6.5" (approx) Upcycled clothing, string, rope, jewelry on repurposed wood palette 2025 This wood palette up-cycled sculptural piece was part of the Common Thread installation with the Ad Hoc Abstract artist collective. Common Thread was a month-long installation at Hamilton's Cotton Factory courtyard, debuted on the opening reception for the Hamilton Art Fair, and serves as an exploration of the common lived experiences the women artists share using a visual language of up-cycled materials, namely wood and string/rope/textile. These materials symbolize the Ad Hoc Abstract collective's realization that in order to remain “relevant” in the art community as women creators, they feel a constant need to reinvent themselves (aka, they're always trying to find ways to “say what we need to say” through new forms of media and materials) while being mindfully cautious of the responsibility they (and also we, as a population) have to our planet to limit waste in creative industries. This piece, positioned alongside the other three wood palettes is about saying “new things” with “old stuff”, to put it plainly. For the Common Thread exhibition, each Ad Hoc Abstract artist (four in total) took an existing wood pallet and hemp rope as common materials to create stand-alone sculptural objects that are unique expressions of each of their creative practices. Ad Hoc Abstract then gathered at the site of installation at the and found a way to integrate their separate pieces, ad hoc, into one larger sculptural installation. Because of the “Ad Hoc” nature of these projects, the artists didn’t know what the final piece would look like until they came together to assemble it. The materials used allowed for an exploration of themes based in tension, connection, surrender, resistance, strength and fragility. Watch the "making of" this piece here. More about this project: Ad Hoc Abstract is an all-women artist collective that explores commonality through differences. Despite the varying ages and family/personal situations of the women in this collective, each individual artist has found a way to relate to one another's experiences as women creatives, and the realizations that result from every project and different exhibition/body of work is consistent: we express ourselves differently through our chosen media and artistic expression, but find ourselves exploring the same recurring themes. We are individuals who share a kindredness and a likeness despite our notable differences. Ad Hoc Abstract collective members: Nancy Benoy, Natasja Bischoff, Tania LaCaria, Stephanie Seagram