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I had a great time at the Unfinished Things Festival* at the CentrE17 theatre in Walthamstow on the 15th December!
Unfinished works
My unfinished works are a collection of colourful knitted sculptures created around 2011–2016. The pieces are a continuation of my degree work, and are a crossbreed between children’s toys and internal organs. The work continues the duplicitous theme by merging innocence with iniquity. I didn’t get around to finishing these pieces, as I wanted to consider other possibilities and avoid becoming too formulaic.
The work takes inspiration from Sigmund Freud’s essay on the Uncanny, where the canny (or das heimliche) means something homely and friendly, while the uncanny (or das unheimliche) implies an uncomfortable object or experience. The work subverts the nurturing associations of textiles - knitting has a homely feel, and is often viewed as a nice old, granny craft.
Hybrid Children Toys and Internal Organs
I was drawn to combining children’s toys and internal organs, as I have always been interested in the body, and what lies beneath the surface. Combining the nice with the nasty, transforms the comforting persona of toys into an alien experience. The pieces are inspired by the handmade toys that I used to find at Jumble Sales – which were lovingly made, and meant to be well meaning, but in the process something had gone awry.
When completing the work I am planning to continue the duplicitous theme. Instead of making comfort toys, I plan to make uncomfort toys by fusing them with something unpleasant, such as textiles, words or found objects.
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