Soft Care 2023
installation, prototypes of knitting patterns
The installation for the exhibition Gardening of the Soul at the House of Art in Ústí nad Labem includes not only space for knitting, but also designs of motifs and patterns. Colours, motifs and patterns in knitting, often influenced by tradition and place of origin, can connect places in time and space. The specific conception of the patterns and the choice of colour palette in the materials used in the Soft Care installation are defined by the experiences and information gathered during my residency at the Skaftfell Art Centre in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland. The inspiration from the Icelandic landscape is brought to the border of abstraction and is represented by the interweaving of structures and colour contrasts. The motifs and patterns are more than just decoration. By intertwining them into the sweater, a physical backup of memories of places, situations, and encounters that I had the opportunity to experience during my Icelandic stay is created.
Taking care of dreams, mine. Taking care of others, knitting a sweater for someone. Taking care of wool. Knitting sweaters. At home, in the armchair, with my mom watching TV, on the train on the way to school…
Things I’ve wanted to do for a long time but haven’t made time for yet. Taking care of the material, continuity, knitting sweaters for others is caring for their comfort. Slowness, simplicity, and naturalness. A process that cannot be rushed. It has its pace, its system, its graphic grid. Stitch by stitch, row by row.
Variations of colours, patterns, textures and materials.
Knitting is used here as a metaphor for care from many perspectives. All converge in the installation provided for knitting a sweater for…
Choose the wool, add a few stitches, a row…
Together we’ll knit the sweater.