Les Tricoteuses: The plain and purl of solidarity and protest

Les Tricoteuses: The plain and purl of solidarity and protest

Liz Stops

 KNAG banner

Photo: Clare Twomey 2013

Abstract This paper focuses on the use of knitting as a protest tool by the Knitting Nannas Against Gas (KNAG), a group formed to combat the development of Unconventional Gas Mining (UGM) in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. KNAG is socially and politically motivated, but not aligned to any political party. The group’s ‘Nannafesto’ emphasises care for community and country while protesting against corporate greed. I situate KNAG within a broad historical and contemporary framework of similarly motivated movements that have used knitting as a tool for social, cultural and ideological influence. I also elaborate on the act of knitting as a form of witness bearing, a means to facilitate calm persistence, a strategy for processing ideas and an instrument for reinforcing the threads connecting community. Read full paper

Abstract from: Les Tricoteuses: The plain and purl of solidarity and protest

Full paper published in craft+design enquiry: issue 6 Issue 6 2014, Craft.Material.Memory

Knitting nannas, political, CSG, craft, activism

The strange quiet of things misplaced: Craft, material and memory in the work of Elisa Markes-Young

The strange quiet of things misplaced: Craft, material and memory in the work of Elisa Markes-Young

By Belinda von Mengersen

Elisa Markes-Young, The strange quiet of things misplaced #33, 2010, acrylic, pencil, pastel, wool, cotton and silk on Belgian linen, 550 x 1100 mm

Photo: Christopher Young. Licensed by VISCOPY Australia

 

 Abstract This paper will consider the relationship between the performative nature of craft and the transformation of memory, as exemplified in the work of Elisa Markes-Young. Particular reference will be made to her series The strange quiet of things misplaced (2007–2011), which is based on memories of domestic linen from her Eastern European childhood. This discussion offers a provisional reading of the series, relating to the concepts of craft, material and memory, and considers how devices like encounter and mimicry can elicit both memory and improvisational craft practices. Markes-Young, who has no formal training in traditional textile techniques, describes her process as a literal activation of memory through making, giving rise to the question: ‘Can the techniques of material practice provide the means for not only creation and reflection, but also an altogether new “encounter” between the artist and her work: occasioning both new works and enriched memories?’ Such a proposal contrasts with the popular conception of artists drawing on memory to inspire their artworks: here, it is suggested, memory is encountered, activated, and enhanced by physical and conceptual craft practice. Read full paper

Abstract from The strange quiet of things misplaced: Craft, material and memory in the work of Elisa Markes-Young
Full paper published in craft+design enquiry:  Issue 6 2014, Craft.Material.Memory

Memory, Conversation, Encounter, Material-Practice, Performance, Creative-Research

Craft.Material.Memory NOW ONLINE

Issue 6 (2014)  Craft.Material.Memory, edited by Anne Brennan and Patsy Hely

NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE 
http://press.anu.edu.au/titles/craftdesign-enquiry/issue-6-2014/

craft + design enquiry is open access (FREE to view online and FREE to download) or available in print-on-demand hard copy $35 from ANU Press.


Cover image: Bob Katter wearing a KNAG (Knitting Nannas Against Gas) Hat
Photo: Jenny Leunig, 20 June 2013

Information for issues 6, 7 and 8

Update for  CDE Readers

Issue 6, 2014: Craft.Material.Memory online from August 2014 on ANU Press website 

Issue 7, 2015: Landscape, Place and Identify in Craft and Design. Call for papers now closed – invited papers are due in by 30 June 2014. To be published mid-2015

Issue 8, 2016: 'Global Parallels: Production and Craft in Fashion and Industrial Design Industries’ Call for Papers  To be published in mid-2016.

Call for Papers closing soon: issue 6 2014

Current Calls for Papers for issue #6, 2014 
Closing June 30 2013. Now Closed 
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