Bound brushes and cascading threads give this hanging sculpture a quiet intensity.
In Bound, Leanne Gibbons brings together used paintbrushes, stained calico rags and thrifted thread. Tightly wrapped bundles gather above worn handles and metal ferrules, while long red threads fall loosely beneath them.
The brushes become substitute bodies, reflecting the mental and emotional labour of women in art and the longstanding distinction between art and craft. Through the physical act of binding, Leanne gives discarded materials a charged presence, questioning how usefulness shapes what—and whom—we value.
Created for the Changing Threads Contemporary Textile Exhibition, Nelson 2026, this work invites closer attention in an entranceway, study or living room. It can be suspended from the ceiling or displayed from the included screw-in, hand-turned wooden hanging peg.
Tactile · Expressive · Thought-provoking
Used paintbrushes, calico and thrifted thread · 30 cm wide × 105 cm high × 15 cm deep
Hanging sculpture · Wooden wall-hanging peg included
Bound brushes and cascading threads give this hanging sculpture a quiet intensity.
In Bound, Leanne Gibbons brings together used paintbrushes, stained calico rags and thrifted thread. Tightly wrapped bundles gather above worn handles and metal ferrules, while long red threads fall loosely beneath them.
The brushes become substitute bodies, reflecting the mental and emotional labour of women in art and the longstanding distinction between art and craft. Through the physical act of binding, Leanne gives discarded materials a charged presence, questioning how usefulness shapes what—and whom—we value.
Created for the Changing Threads Contemporary Textile Exhibition, Nelson 2026, this work invites closer attention in an entranceway, study or living room. It can be suspended from the ceiling or displayed from the included screw-in, hand-turned wooden hanging peg.
Tactile · Expressive · Thought-provoking
Used paintbrushes, calico and thrifted thread · 30 cm wide × 105 cm high × 15 cm deep
Hanging sculpture · Wooden wall-hanging peg included
