Solo Exhibitions
Blood Bound
SCAD Museum of Art
Savannah, Georgia
February 16 - May 1, 2016
Curated by Aaron Levi Garvey
Installation photos courtesy of SCAD Museum of Art
Blood Bound was a sweeping exhibition surveying nearly two decades of our collaborative studio practice. From the beginning, our work has been rooted in three guiding principles: spend your life doing what you love, be focused and disciplined, and collaborate.
We first met curator Aaron Levi Garvey while visiting the SCAD Museum of Art, where we had long been in dialogue with curator Melissa Messina. When Aaron proposed the exhibition to Melissa, she enthusiastically supported it, and Blood Bound became one of the most expansive exhibitions of our career.
Aaron was fascinated by the central role that color plays in our process. For years, we’ve worked within a set of twelve color families—red, blue, yellow, orange, white/silver, gold/yellow, green, purple, black, tan, chocolate, and gray. These “zones” have long shaped how we approach composition, storytelling, and material. For Blood Bound, Aaron proposed a concept that allowed us to view our work through this spectrum, leading to a beautiful excavation of our archive.
“Ultimately, Blood Bound was an exploration of color as language—each hue holding emotion, memory, and meaning. It honored our past while deepening our commitment to storytelling through material, community, and form.”
We catalogued thousands of pieces by color, selecting works that exemplified our evolution. But instead of isolating the colors as distinct sections, the exhibition became a holistic narrative—tracing memory, emotion, and form across years of practice.
A few standout works:
Fire Tower 3: a purple beaded handbag inspired by ritual. We transformed our journal pages into sculptural forms, photographed their burning by artist John Clang, then William used the prints as visual prompts behind the loom while weaving the textile.
Goody Goody Goody Gumdrops: a gold-hued landscape covered in trinkets sourced from The Invisible Dog Art Center. The title comes from a sing-song phrase we chanted with our sister Bee during early years living together in Brooklyn
Kids in the Car: a green scroll-based landscape recalling a game we played as kids—clacking our teeth at perfectly manicured lawns as we rode in the backseat of our parents’ car.
Blown-glass Ants (black): whimsical yet profound sculptures inspired by an ant infestation in a LEGO box. Over time, these ants grew to symbolize loved ones— family members or close friends.
Volcano series (red): a pivotal body of work marking our shift from wearable objects to narrative landscapes. Most of the accessories once stored inside the boxes were displayed, although one remained hidden inside—a secret waiting to be discovered.
Volcano series (red): a pivotal body of work marking our shift from wearable objects to narrative landscapes. Most of the accessories once stored inside the boxes were displayed, although one remained hidden inside—a secret waiting to be discovered.
The exhibition was also a chance to connect with the SCAD community. We conducted a multi-department Scrollathon engaging students and professors, building a new collaborative masterwork. You can learn more about it at scrollathon.com/scadmuseumofart.
Museum Site: https://www.scad.edu/event/2016-02-09-steven-and-william-ladd-exhibition-blood-bound
