Be afraid
£4,500.00- Date 2019
- Size 300 x 190 cm
- Materials Machine knitted wool tapestry
- Limited Edition of 5 + Artist's Proof
Be afraid is part of a broader series of works collectively entitled, Who’s scared of the soft stuff? These works explore the hierarchy of materials, embracing and celebrating the soft and floppy, challenging the commonly held view that the soft is powerless.
Be afraid was made using automated digital knitting technology. In contrast to knitting digital technology is viewed as hard and powerful. Original drawings, by my daughter, and hand written text by me were manipulated into a four-colour image in Photoshop where each individual pixel becomes a single knitted stitch. This is a slow and laborious process, much like knitting itself, but without the pleasure of the yarn passing through your hands, and the rhythmic movements that accompany it. We tend to think of digital technology as being fast, and an easy way to achieve something. It is not.