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Delighted to been given the opportunity to deliver my first conference paper at In the Loop at 10, at Winchester School of Art in July. This two day event (19th and 20th July), celebrates 10 years of the specialist conference aiming to give a diverse prospective on knitting.
It was a lovely day- the catering was wonderful, and it was great meeting so many knitting enthusiasts and experts from across the globe. I enjoyed the variety of talks, on subjects ranging from Norwegian tradition, craftivism and politics, nurture and sacred space, and community knitting projects. I learnt so much!
My paper entitled Freudian Knits and Body Bits, explored the phallocentric construction of female sexuality, and how I use my artwork to imagine alternative reality by blurring gender boundaries:-
My Freudian inspired knits merge male and female genitalia, and combine humour with repulsion to challenge phallocentric views on beauty and femininity. Recent political events, revealing embedded patriarchal attitudes acted as a catalyst to my artwork. The pieces examine feminist issues, and the pressure created by society to conform to a standard role and beauty ideal.
The soft, flexible sculptures subvert the homely feel of knitting, as it becomes alien when shaped into internal organs and taboo body parts. The pieces challenge the hierarchy of the arts, by using a medium traditionally viewed as a female pastime, and consequently considered low art...or craft.
The work plays the Freudian Oedipus complex, to undermine the masculine construct of female sexuality. Knitted Womb, features an umbilical cord acting as a substitute phallus. The pieces take inspiration from the duplicity of the Mother archetype, which can be nurturing and life-giving, yet terrifying and destructive. Ambiguity is created by fusing several oedipal stages; it is unclear if they are male or female, benign or malicious.
Key pieces include:-
Nippy, has overtones of the serpent in Adam and Eve, with its long knitted intestine culminating in a breast-phallic-like object.
Mutter II, is a simplified representation of a woman with multiple breasts. Pink is often viewed as ‘girly’ – however changing the form or context can make the colour repulsive.
Mutter III, fuses several oedipal stages (oral, anal and phallic) and takes inspiration from the minimalistic creatures in the film Alien/s. The pubic hair celebrates the natural female form.
The sculptures fuse the low with the high, to celebrate the banal and explore the in between. Julia Kristeva’s views on the disgust mechanism and its relationship to social order, has been a great influence on my work. As in the arts, there is also a hierarchy of internal organs (heart and brain = high, spleen and intestines = low). Nippycelebrates the abject by attaching a high status phallus to an intestine; the internal organ provoking the most disgust, as it digests and levels all humans.
Knitting is integral to my work and artistic principles. The flexible looped structure is ideal for creating the wrinkle-free tubes, reminiscent of internal organs. The pieces are often displayed as anthropomorphic creatures crawling across the walls and floor, and are adaptable to any space.
The cheapness of yarns and materials, makes it a democratic art form, accessible to all. Value is achieved through the time spent making (i.e. women’s work), rather than the original worth of the material. The pieces are made from conventional yarns, and aim to incorporate a degree of sustainability by using recycled family pieces and charity shop finds.
For the sculptor, knitting offers many opportunities. My current studies involve using non‑conventional yarns (twine, silk string, wire and paper yarn), combining sculptural materials (plaster, resin, wax and latex), and utilising heat tools to create decayed structures on synthetic materials (tyvek, kunin felts, rubco, plastic, permatex and nylon filaments).
The full paper can be viewed here.
