Common Threads

Based in Hackney, Submit to Love Studios is home to a group of artists working collectively in an open studio environment.  All of the artists have survived brain injuries – some use this to inform their work, while others take inspiration from the world around them. They have developed a set of unique practices and interests, refined over more than a decade.

This exhibition featured new work by 25 Studio artists, using Autograph’s collection of photography as inspiration for textile works. Photographs charting the contribution of diverse cultures to Britain over two centuries were reimagined by the Studio as elaborate embroideries, appliqué and fabric prints. The artists used the collection as inspiration for self-portraiture, reflecting on personal histories.

Inspired by the collective’s lived experience of brain injury, Common Threads explored ideas of heritage, talent and otherness – and the many ways underrepresented stories can be told. In keeping with the Studio’s collective ethos, a number of these works were created collaboratively. For many of the artists this is the first use of textile and embroidery in their practice.

Works were shown by Studio artists Tony Allen, Tony Brooks, Dolores Crump, Affiong Day, Errol Drysdal, Keith Emmanuel, Jason Ferry, Ken Hazeldine, Calvin Hill, Mike Hoyle, Sam Jevon, Sandra Lott, Theresa Malcolm, Billy Mann, Marcus Mann, Yoki Mekuria, Tirzah Mileham, Chris Miller, Brian Searle, Alex Sherlock, Trevor Small, Evaldas Sorocinskis, Diana Takyi, Mark Taylor and Cecil Waldron.

Submit to Love Studios’ work appeared alongside a selection of portraits of the artists by photographer Leon Foggitt, and a short film by Posy Dixon.