Bio
Becca Lavender Thomas (they/them) is a queer disabled multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago. Their mediums span from music to fiber art and their practice encompasses themes surrounding belonging, disability, isolation, and identity. Through dyeing, printing, embroidery, quilting, and piecework they process and transform memories in a non-linear approach. This language of material and visual poetics facilitates catharsis and solace as they grapple with life in a divergent body-mind. Merging craft and ‘crip time’ their work traverses experiences both internal and external as the forces of grief, joy, trauma, and imagination coalesce in a world of their own making.
Lavender earned their MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019, and their BFA in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History from Indiana University . They were awarded a residency with Paradise AIR in Japan in 2016. They were a HATCH resident with the Chicago Artists Coalition from 2022-2023. Their work has been exhibited in the US and internationally in Japan.
Lavender earned their MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2019, and their BFA in Painting and Drawing with a minor in Art History from Indiana University . They were awarded a residency with Paradise AIR in Japan in 2016. They were a HATCH resident with the Chicago Artists Coalition from 2022-2023. Their work has been exhibited in the US and internationally in Japan.
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Artist Statement
In my work I use the language of craft to cultivate scenes that address themes of belonging, memory, disability, and identity. With the process of stitching, printing, dyeing, piecing, and embroidering, I approach experiences both difficult and tender in a cyclical manner. Craft time and Crip time merge to collapse the past, present, and future, creating windows into my mind palace to depict the colorful, mundane, whimsical, and eerie forms of my internal landscape. My work is about those moments in life that shape us for better or worse, tackling these topics to build a world that feels familiar, nostalgic, and sometimes confronting. Through the slow process of craft my practice leaves a trail of breadcrumbs in the search for solace. A vernacular of personal folklore bridges my inner world and translates it into the visual and material. What is abstract in thought is given form and embodied. The measured pace of making gives way to existential questions about life, longing, and the desperation to replace feelings of dread with quiet contemplation.
In this way I tumble headlong into maze-like twists and turns with more attention to the journey than the destination. My practice involves following these creative threads as they arise. For example, I first began writing music in order to have an accompanying soundtrack for my immersive installations, and now my music is a project in its own right. These overlapping channels of creativity may take different forms but are all cut from the same cloth.
In this way I tumble headlong into maze-like twists and turns with more attention to the journey than the destination. My practice involves following these creative threads as they arise. For example, I first began writing music in order to have an accompanying soundtrack for my immersive installations, and now my music is a project in its own right. These overlapping channels of creativity may take different forms but are all cut from the same cloth.
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News
Interview with Voyage Chicago
Read a feature about the artist on Voyage Chicago, an online magazine dedicated to highlighting interesting and creative people working in the city of Chicago.
voyagechicago.com/interview/meet-becca-thomas-artist-live-northwest-side-chicago-attend-graduate-school-downtown-saic/
voyagechicago.com/interview/meet-becca-thomas-artist-live-northwest-side-chicago-attend-graduate-school-downtown-saic/
Interview with Ballpit Mag
A short interview with the artist on Ballpit Mag, a site dedicated to giving exposure for emerging artists. Read it here => ballpitmag.com/portfolio/create_dreamspace/
Previous Exhibits
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Spectrum, an exhibit of new works by Becca Thomas, will be on display from December 2-30 at General Public Collective in Indianapolis, IN. The show will feature a variety of new work, from paintings and drawings, to textile installations.
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Residency in Japan with Paradise AIR
Above are some articles highlighting the artist's solo show in Matsudo, Japan. The exhibit was sponsored by Paradise AIR and was a culmination of the artist's residency in Japan. May 2016.