A close look at the overflow of everyday goods takes Tommy John to secondhand environments, such as thrift stores, junkyards, and flea markets: places that mediate the transition of lost objects into found belongings. Exploring these landscapes, he uses textiles, photography, and printmaking processes to assemble installations on the topics of thrift, discard, and sentimental value.

Tommy John Ballard is an artist, writer, and educator from the Ohio River Valley. As an MFA Candidate in Fiber & Material Studies their graduate studies include working as a Collection Assistant for the Textile Resource Center, conducting collaborative research through the Arts, Science + Culture Initiative with the University of Chicago, and as an SAIC Residential Research Fellow at the Art Institute of Chicago Research Center. They received their Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, with minors in Print Media and Art History, and their Master of Arts in Art Education from the Art Academy of Cincinnati.