Installation work is important to me as it envelopes my whole being. The objective to create a site specific installation of stretched strands of wool in the White Room, proved a huge challenge for me, in that I put down my needles and faced the bare white walls,disjointed uneven ceiling and at the time grubby off white floor.My installations of Knitted Web and Elusive Elevation proved to create' barriers' in their somewhat geometric representation . A means to procure a sensation of either to 'keep in' or keep out'.Or were they objective in exploring spatial awareness which previously had been unseen or banal? Lacey Jane Roberts, a Californian Artist, proved to support my intention here.
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The Master's Tools(decay goes both ways). 2008. Installation by Lacey Jane Roberts. |
The quest for experimenting with wool as a medium has transposed my creativity from pen and paper or paintbrush and canvas; into the needle and loop. My research has involved Shane Waltener, a London based artist who uses groups of people to assist in vibrant, expressive installations,using multi-media threads and wools.
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Garland number12, Festival Theatre, 2007, Buddhist Centre, Cambridge. |
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Remnants of work from installation, above. |
Besides Tomas Saraceno and Louise Bourgeois(sited in blog), as artists I have researched this year, I came upon a Dutch Artist in a library book relevant to my work, Antonietta Peeters. She responds to spatial areas and creates wall works, gouaches on paper and crocheted sculptures which aspire to a totally unconventional approach to visual art. Recurrent perception of space is a component consistent in her work.(Please see Peeters Antonietta, Swamp,Nai Publishers, Rotterdam/Philip Morris Finest Selection Foundation, Amsterdam. 2000. ISBN 90-5662-1912). Normal Desires 1994, is an executed red and pink celebration of needle work, composed of am otor cycle covered in loose fitted crochet work, with matching helmet. The work evokes a different impression of how we see a bike,made with different material suited more to the feminine gender than the male. Also it is in a different spatial awareness. The effect created produces a totally radical transformation.
My window work (or crisis period, as I felt as though I had failed to achieve recognition of how much work I had produced or researched) transcended me into a period of reflection literally! I concentrated on embuing some element into my sculptures/paintings and researched work by Cathy De Monchaux and
Mariele Neudecker(Please see blogs).I made a diary of poems and pictures and have written one in my blog(Please see below in blog).The narrative I encountered and the time of self reproach assisted me to float for awhile ,until I luckily returned to knitting once more.
Claes Oldenburg inspired me to construct my large 6ft knitting needles(see blog).This work was indeed a challenge,consisting of three weeks of arm aching, back breaking activity!I enjoyed playing with the gigantic needles,knitted piece in comparison to the normal sized linen box, in the White Room.
Besides the artists above, I have researched Annie Shaw who uses performance knitting, to create art pieces reflecting cultural and historical elements.For example, Salmon,Mackerel, Herring,2008.
Colour and texture are integral to my work. I want to create a charismatic influence, hence the brightly coloured chair, lamps and shoes.
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Tree of Mythical Knowledge,2009. Tree,machine knitted wool and lace. |
Janet Morton is another artist who has managed to 'cuddle' a tree with her crocheted construction.(Please see blog).The Jafagirls are also mentioned in my blog.
My most favorite knitting artist is Sophie Horton, who is a London based artist dealing with how the knitted textile when presented outside in the environment, can affect not only the impression of the work itself, but also distort our understanding of the site installed.(Please see tree in left image).
I was also fascinated by work also by Janet Morton called Untitled Domestic Interior,2000, which had a cataclysmic effect on my interest with a surreal 'knitted world'(Please see image below).
This propelled me into constructing my ,domesticated lamps and chair.
Finally, I must state that my tree trunk crocheted in bold coloured treble crochet stitch( Treble Trunk blog),is intended to question 'Can this temporary installation alter the rural surroundings in a meaningful way?Or can it survive in it's temporary state in the viewer's memory?Also how can a photograph of the work alter the concept of the landscape being viewed?
Indeed my knitting hopefully creates challenging, aspiring interpretations of what can be,of what is and in altering context,form or site of an object,can question our perceptions of materials.I need my knitting not just to be visual, but have a visceral meaning and my 'casting on line' has just started in my quest!
