Claus exhibit comes to a close

Drawing together all of the installations is the glinting thread from which the discs are strung. Unlike other similar installations which are often hung from clear thread to give the illusion of being suspended from nothing, Claus intentionally draws attention to the mechanism that holds her art up, using a fine reflective sewing thread.

“It reflects the light so that they’re visible, because I don’t want these things to be suspended as if they’re floating in the air, I want to show the connection from where the threads go from the ground all the way up to the ceiling, that’s the connection and the relationship between the Earth and sky,” Claus said.

The thread has been a significant image throughout Claus’s work, also recalling images of the thread in a wampum belt when cut off the loom.

“I think about the wampum belts with the ends of the thread hanging long, it shows that the wampum belt is part of an agreement or a covenant that has been made and continues on, that’s active and living,” Claus said.

“They don’t cut off or tidy up the ends, and I think of these threads in the same way, indicating that relationship.”