Somewhere 'between myth, dreams and reality', Scottish artist Sandra Collins' work deals with themes of existentialism and the way we respond to an ever changing world. After a forced rescheduling due to the pandemic, the artist's first solo exhibition finally arrives at Glasgow's Compass Gallery. The collection features delicate pencil drawings and paintings of people surrounded by shapes and objects. Yet, one distinct feature within Collins' work is the use of thread, something which shouldn't be mistaken for simple embroidery. 'It's not pattern,' she insists. 'It is drawing with the thread; it's drawing from life onto the cloth.'

The pieces featured in Show Me Everything are an extension of Collins' previous work. After graduating from Edinburgh College Of Art, where lecturers encouraged the use of multimedia within her projects, she continued exploring the use of thread on different mediums, including stitching over faces in magazines. 'I decided I wanted to branch out. Why couldn't I draw the faces? Then, I could draw how I want them, rather than coming across them.'

However, Collins makes it clear that her pieces are not portraits. Rather, her work is figurative, conveying personalities and emotions of everyone. 'Quite a lot of my work is about what makes us who we are. It's thinking about what we take with us in our heads. The sewing started coming out and being extensions of the head. The thread just sort of took me.'

Collins' work often connects visual art, metaphors, perceptions and serious themes. One piece, 'Gallus Gallus Domesticus' (a term also used to describe the common hen), is an interplay between the literal meaning of the term which gives this piece its name, and the visuals. 'Who is the hen there?' the artist asks. For Collins, the exhibition title conveys multiple meanings. 'There are many strands to who you are as an artist and what your work is about. Nothing for me is about just one thing. Also, I'd like to invite curiosity and people to look at the surfaces and the colour. Maybe I am saying "show me everything. How do you respond?"'

Sandra Collins: Show Me Everything, Compass Gallery, Glasgow, until Saturday 19 March.