"A Tenuous Thread" is a retrospective encompassing five decades of creative output by master weaver Bhakti Ziek. Arranged chronologically, the retrospective charts the evolution of Ziek's pioneering approach to weaving alongside a historical survey of textile craft that raises questions about cultural appropriation that can be traced back to the late Byzantine plot to steal silk production from China's Tang Dynasty.

The retrospective features works from Ziek's storied weaving career, from her humble beginnings as a student of textiles in South America to her prominent career in academia and beyond. Samplers, tapestries, and mounted textile works imbued with personal symbols, motifs, and text from Ziek's life illustrate the inextricable link between the artist's weaving practice and lived experience. Ziek demonstrates this link with live, in-gallery weaving demonstrations on her floor loom every Thursday and Saturday following the exhibition’s opening on 23 February 2023.

A selection of works by Ziek's pupils-turned-colleagues, including Tali Weinberg, Jovencio de la Paz, Anastatia Spicer, Susie Taylor & Ann Morton, accompany Ziek's oeuvre and establish a figurative and material dialogue that evokes the mindful knowledge sharing essential to textile craft and innovation.