Friday, April 21, 2017

2013 - Knitting with crocodiles

Haven't posted in a ridiculously long time!!!
Here are some images from 2013 :)

Subaqueous Knit
Rebecca Arbon. 2013. Subaqueous Knitter. Performance Still.

Like a pixel is the smallest, controllable element of a picture represented on a screen, a stitch is the smallest, controllable element in a knitted work. The composition of both stitches in a knitting pattern, and the pixel composition of digital images, is arranged as a grid of squares[1]. Through pixilating images of my knitted works I am attempting to explore the relationship between the handmade form and the digital image.


Rebecca Arbon. 2013. Subaqeuous Knit 3. Digital still

Embroidery is constructed (mostly by women) in hundreds of tiny stitches which are visible on the front of the fabric…Software is constructed (mostly by men) in hundreds of tiny pieces of code, which form the hidden structure of the programme or interface…[2]




Rebecca Arbon. 2013. Subaqeuous Knit 1 and 2. Digital stills

Each of my knitted works narrates the laborious studio process. I indulge in a state of meditation, using the monotonous motion of the hand relevant to the traditional process of knitting to connect with the unconscious. For me the oddity of knitting in a tropical region exaggerates the delicacy of the connection I am trying to maintain with traditional crafts. I have begun photographing my knitted works underwater – in pools and natural bodies of water. I became drawn to incorporating water with my knitted works for its subconscious, transformational, reflective and motional properties; seeing the knitted work underwater seemed to reconnect my tropical surroundings with my process.
As a process driven object maker, I am intrigued by the symbiotic connection between the hand and the form. I am fascinated by the importance of the hand in art history and how the relationship between the artist and the hand is evolving with technology as we become more removed from first-hand traditional craft experience and more oriented towards observing the world through a screen. For me, contemporary drawing and sculptural practices are cumulative processes; wholes that are comprised of many small parts, akin to pixels.[3]

Like a pixel is the smallest, controllable element of a picture represented on a screen, a stitch is the smallest, controllable element in a knitted work. Morphing pixelated images of my knitted works allows me to explore the interrelationship between these ‘smallest controllable element’ and the role they play in the identity of an object.

The composition of both these ‘smallest controllable elements’, such as stitches in a knitting pattern, and the pixel composition of digital images, is arranged as a grid of squares[4]. By pixilation of images of my knitted works I am attempting to explore the relationship between the handmade form and the digital image.


[1] http://knittingpatternsfree.net/
[2] Ele Carpenter, Open Source, 2005
[3] Shannon Stratton, Reconstructive Surgery: Re-imaging the Body in Fibre, Catalogue essay for exhibition The Body in Fibre, 2006
[4] http://knittingpatternsfree.net/


 Rebecca Arbon. 2013. Subaquesous Knit - Morphing

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