By Michelle Hanks, PhD student at London College of Fashion for Walls in Online Places
I am a knitter. Hand-knitting is important to how I negotiate the world, especially this digitally mediated one. In my research I use my knitting practice to interpret this, both through my experience of the process and in the end pieces themselves.
I already make in a domestic setting, as hand-knitters have done for years, so for me the current change of circumstances did not change where I worked. However, putting my work together for the ‘Walls in Online Places’ event was different. It was challenging to photograph some of the work, to capture the tactility, and to find a location at home. I used a small attic space, but it was hard to decide how ‘domestic’ to leave it. I was very aware of my privacy, of allowing the public in, as anyone who has to videoconference is now finding. In the end I compromised – it is not a gallery space, it is a home. It is so common to see knitting in a domestic space, but would it have looked different in a gallery?
-
4898 Likes, M. Hanks (2019), wool and calico
-
2018 Knitted, M. Hanks (2019), wool
I may work domestically, but the biggest effect of the lockdown has been on my attention and focus. Knitting is often seen as a meditative craft, but as a knitter I know that I knit while watching television, listening to the radio, or even reading a book. To do this I vary the complexity. If I want to read, I knit plain simple work. If I want to spend focused time on my knitting, I choose a complex, detailed pattern, and it holds my attention.
What has struck me in this last month is how the events have affected what I was able to knit. When the pandemic really began to take effect, and the country was told to stay home, I initially found I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I needed to knit, but all I could do was plain, simple knitting, that didn’t even require me to make choices as to colour or yarn. All of my attention was being drawn by the need to check the latest ‘breaking news’ alerts, to listen to the government daily briefing. To try and understand what was happening, and what impact it could have on me and those I care about. I don’t imagine I was alone in this, but the knitting made it so apparent to me, enabling me to be alert to my state of mind, and lower expectations for my ability to do other things that needed focus.
-
How Am I Feeling?, M. Hanks (2019), wool
-
Self Performance, M. Hanks (2018), merino and herdwick wool
After two weeks, there was a sudden change in what I needed to knit. I wanted complexity and detail. I wanted soft yarn, and something that required attention. Interestingly I still didn’t have the mental capacity to be inventive, so I worked from a pattern. I stopped tuning in to all the briefings, ignored the news alerts on my phone. I had realised I could do nothing about what was happening outside my door. I chose to focus on my knitting, and through this was able to focus on writing.
I hope this explains a little about how important I feel hand-knitting can be as a bellwether, alerting us to how we are feeling, and maybe changing it. These are as relevant day-to-day as in the current difficult situation.
-
Knitter vs Twitter, M. Hanks (2018), wool, paper tags
-
What Remains, M. Hanks (2018), wool, glass
-
Hand Me Down, M. Hanks (2018), wool and cotton
Walls in Online Places is an online exhibition programme for UAL postgrads to share their work whilst in isolation and practicing social distancing.
Post-Grad Stories
A thriving online magazine of our postgraduate student voices sharing thought-provoking experiences, practices, thoughts and articles about what matters to them.
Open Call: Student stories/shares during COVID-19 Outbreak
Want to write an article? Get in touch with the Post-Grad Community team PGCommunity@arts.ac.uk