Hilo, a Spanish word for thread, encapsulates our trains of thought, connections and structures of reality. This group exhibition of four women artists from Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru explores how the concept of ‘thread’ can be taken beyond its traditional relationship with textile and fabric. Breaking the boundaries of painting and sculpture, the works of these artists weave new connections with language and signs, our bodies, our memories and the world around us.
Sofia Clausse
Clausse (b.1989, Buenos Aires, Argentina) lives and works in London. Clausse’s thinking is guided by a textile logic and a circular use of material. Her work is very influenced by the history of Latin American weaving and concrete poetry, as well as systemic and generative processes, which she employs in her practice creating a visual cosmos that explores what it means to belong and become while constantly changing.  Her practice is a research into cycles, time, repetition, language, lines, and transformation; using painting, paper, text, and ceramics. Custom tools and systems are continuously invented to create an ongoing visual lexicon that collapses the distinction between semantics and semiotics – symbols and meanings endlessly contain each other. Elements interweave and extend like a labyrinth and what was discovered or what remains in one piece informs and transforms into the next. This path of her practice becomes a line through time, that loops and knots, following itself and connecting its ends left loose. The line entangles with other knots on other lines, creating a mesh where playing becomes making becomes thinking, regenerating itself from itself, like an ouroboros.  Clausse completed her BFA at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2014, and the postgraduate programme in Fine Arts at the Royal Academy Schools in London in 2022. She is the recipient of the 2023 Polloc-Krasner Foundation Award. She has participated in group exhibitions and had solo shows in the UK and the US. More recently, she collaborated with Commes des Garçons for their Homme Deux FW23 Collection.
Vanessa Enriquez
EnrÃquez (b. 1973, Mexico City, Mexico) lives and works in Berlin. She is a transdisciplinary artist whose work centres on an expanded approach to drawing as a contemplative and inquisitive practice - a method of investigating concepts and phenomena proposed by physics and non-dual philosophies. With tools ranging from ink to magnetic tape, she unfolds geometries on paper or in space that refer to the multidimensional nature of reality, recognise the material as well as the immaterial and defy the viewer’s perception. EnrÃquez received a BFA in Graphic Design in Mexico City and an MFA from Yale University in 2000. She has been awarded grants by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Stiftung Kunstfonds and the Mexican National Fund for Culture and Arts. Her work has been exhibited in institutions such as the Aomori Centre for Contemporary Art, Japan (2022); the Drawing Lab, Paris (2021); Querétaro Museum of Contemporary Art (MACQ) (2019); the Museum of Contemporary Art in Oaxaca (MACO)(2020); and the Museum of Contemporary Art Juan Soriano in Cuernavaca, Mexico (2021), among others.
Alma Laura Felber
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Felber (b. 1949, Lima, Peru) moved to London at the young age of 19. In her early 20s, she took up her current painting practice. Alma Laura observes the world through her unique lens, which allows her to explore her own identity alongside themes of sexuality, race, the feminine, the body, the family, the imagined and the current. In her colour-filled works, Alma Laura distils memories and snapshots of life's moments and experiences, capturing human connection mixed with elements of nostalgia. ​ Alma Laura has had solo exhibitions in Lima and London, and her works are included in private collections in Latin America, the US and Europe. To view more works visit our viewing room.
Susana Uvidia
Uvidia (Ecuador) is a sculptor living and working in London, where she obtained her BA and MA in Fine Arts from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. Confronting ingrained stereotypes about South Americans and ‘the other’ made her art embrace her mestizo heritage. Her art becomes a place where the indigenous and the European merge with equal importance, creating a dialogue between the two parts of her being. In her works, the vibrant traditions of her native Ecuador are intertwined with the sophistication of Europe, challenging the imposed cultural hierarchy. Uvidia has received various awards, including a commission from the law firm, Clifford Chance for their London head office; XIX Prize of Ceramics of the Council of Agriculture, Fishing and Feeding of Madrid; and XI Salón de Abril of the Riobamba Cultural Centre. She has exhibited in the UK, across Europe and Ecuador. 
 Threads of Resurrection is a manifestation of Uvidia’s mestizo identity and the constant dialogue between her cultural roots and the experiences that she has lived as a migrant in Madrid and London. Through these sculptures, she seeks to explore the intersection between the traditional and the contemporary, combining elements of her cultural heritage with the urban and cosmopolitan influences that she has absorbed during her migratory journey. In the interpretation of ancestral shapes and symbols, she conveys the continuity of culture and the importance of recognising our roots in an increasingly interconnected world. The thread and the rods are the means with which she chooses to materialise her ideas, with these elements symbolising connection and resistance. The thread represents the connection with her past, with the roots that sustain and nourish her, while the rods represent the strength and adaptability she has acquired throughout my journey and infer the European industrialised influence within her culture. Each thread intertwined with the metal structure is a visual metaphor of the complexity of the mestizo identity.
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PUBLIC PROGRAMME
Talk: Threaded Expressions: Unveiling Artistic Narratives in Latin America
On Friday 6 October 2023, at Cromwell Place, Amalgama Art led a conversation with Latin American artists who reenvision the concept of Hilo (‘thread’) as a multifaceted artistic expression. What are the unique essences of Latin American storytelling? How have artists challenged and pushed the boundaries of their narratives? From literary chronicles that weave intricate plots to visual journeys that use diverse materials to craft mesmerising stories, we'll untangle this rich tapestry of creativity.
The panel included:
Amalgama Art: Daniela Galan & Jane Soliman
Artists: Sofia Clausse, Vanessa Enriquez, Alma Laura Felber and Susana Uvidia.