17.1.20 Reflections on knitting, form and formlessness
Lou Baker, 2019, Pillars of fire/rage
installed at Ashton Court, Bristol, January
installed at Ashton Court, Bristol, January
17.1.2020
'Drawing on Georges Bataille’s exploration of the informe or formlessness,' Faiers describes 'the fundamental practice of knitting as an operation that attempts to produce form from nothing. The act of enclosing spaces or more precisely setting up temporary enclosures is after all what the practice of knitting consists of.' He goes on to explore the idea of tension... 'both literally as in the tension of the particular knitting stitch, and emotionally, when conscious of knitting’s potential to unravel...' (2014, p102)
Faiers, J., 2014, Knitting and Catastrophe, Textile, 12:1, p100-109, DOI: 10.2752/175183514x13916051793596
Because of its flexibility, I often install my knitted soft sculptures using gravity and tension. This means that although each piece has an intrinsic form, it also has a formlessness about it. Some pieces can be installed in many different ways.
Heart of darkness (2015-present), for example, is a large scale, two-part, abstract, red, hand knitted installation. It is unfinished, and partly unravelling. Sometimes I re-attach several circular knitting needles so I could potentially carry on knitting at any point; sometimes it is left to unravel. Because of the flexible nature of the knitted wool, it’s very versatile and site responsive and can be installed in many different ways:
'Drawing on Georges Bataille’s exploration of the informe or formlessness,' Faiers describes 'the fundamental practice of knitting as an operation that attempts to produce form from nothing. The act of enclosing spaces or more precisely setting up temporary enclosures is after all what the practice of knitting consists of.' He goes on to explore the idea of tension... 'both literally as in the tension of the particular knitting stitch, and emotionally, when conscious of knitting’s potential to unravel...' (2014, p102)
Faiers, J., 2014, Knitting and Catastrophe, Textile, 12:1, p100-109, DOI: 10.2752/175183514x13916051793596
Because of its flexibility, I often install my knitted soft sculptures using gravity and tension. This means that although each piece has an intrinsic form, it also has a formlessness about it. Some pieces can be installed in many different ways.
Heart of darkness (2015-present), for example, is a large scale, two-part, abstract, red, hand knitted installation. It is unfinished, and partly unravelling. Sometimes I re-attach several circular knitting needles so I could potentially carry on knitting at any point; sometimes it is left to unravel. Because of the flexible nature of the knitted wool, it’s very versatile and site responsive and can be installed in many different ways:
Heart of darkness I, installed as part of Red is the colour of.. at B-Wing, 2019
Heart of darkness I & II, 2016, installed at 'Bodies' at The Unit, an empty shop in St James’ Arcade, Broadmead, Bristol, September 1st - 29th
Heart of darkness I , 2017, installed at [dis]place at The Vestibules, Bristol, September 4th – October 2nd
Heart of darkness II, 2017, installed at [dis]place at The Vestibules, Bristol, September 4th – October 2nd
Heart of darkness I & II, 2016, installed at Unravelling at Bow Arts’ Ice House Studios, London, October 6th - 16th
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Heart of darkness II, installed as part of Red is the colour of.. at B-Wing, 2019
Heart of darkness I , 2016, installed at 'Bodies' at The Unit, an empty shop in St James’ Arcade, Broadmead, Bristol, September 1st - 29th
Heart of darkness I & II, 2017, installed at [dis]place at The Vestibules, Bristol, September 4th – October 2nd
Heart of darkness II, 2016, worn by the artist at 'Privy' at The Edwardian Cloakroom, Bristol, June 22nd - 29th
Heart of darkness I, 2017, installed at Window Wanderland at Room 212 Gallery, Bristol, February 4th - 21st
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Heart of darkness I & II, 2016, installed at 'Bodies' at The Unit, an empty shop in St James’ Arcade, Broadmead, Bristol, September 1st - 29th
Heart of darkness I & II, 2016, installed at 'Bodies' at The Unit, an empty shop in St James’ Arcade, Broadmead, Bristol, September 1st - 29th
Heart of darkness I & II, 2017, installed at [dis]place at The Vestibules, Bristol, September 4th – October 2nd
Heart of darkness II, 2016, installed at 'Privy' at The Edwardian Cloakroom, Bristol, June 22nd - 29th
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Internal monologue, 2018, is another knitted piece where I have explored formlessness:
There is a sense in which the way that I knit as a stream of consciousness lends itself to the knitting of formlessness as well.
