For the whole of June, 2011 the 'Knitcetera' exhibition featured at the Estuary Arts Centre in Orewa, a seaside town half an hour north of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. Many of hose who ventured inside, especially the partners of committed knitters, expressed wonder and even amazement at the range of knitting and crochet on display. A common comment was "I thought this would be just jerseys and socks". One elderly gentleman toured the exhibition for well over an hour, entranced by the detail and the possibilities, and from time to time murmuring in delight.
Not all knitting is functional - or needs to be
The exhibition included examples of flowers, fruit & vegetables, teapots and cups, spiderwebs with their expected inhabitants, a fishing net with a range of sealife, some clothing, and many more. There was even a knitted National Anthem (with both Maori and English texts and a NZ map) and a full-sized dress which included Barbie dolls in the structure.
Alongside the exhibition the knitters involved also decorated the trees next to the building in their first foray into a pastime that is gaining popularity around the world - yarn bombing, or graffiti knitting. These pieces remain in place as conversation pieces and to remind visitors of the possibilities.
Planning for more
Another exciting installation of fibrous art is at the Kaipara Sculpture Gardens, a publicly available walk of around 2.5 kilometres on State Highway 17, to the northwest of Auckland City. Here the emphasis has been on flowers and spiders, but the installation is about to change and for the next year will feature more structural elements such as fishnets, even bigger spiderwebs, birdsnests and knitted trees - yes!
It is fascinating to see the range of knitting cropping up around most cities across the world and the various ideas. The Knitcetera people aim for nothing more (or less) than to make people smile - to demonstrate a liberation of ideas and possibilities and to produce wondrous ideas and objects together, enjoying each other's company and having fun in the process.
In 2012 Knitcetera will once again mount an indoor exhibition, but until then their work may be seen on many trees, parking bollards, statues and other places in a town near some of us! There are many groups around, or if there is a gap, it is so easy to start your own group - just start hanging a few bits and pieces in a tree or on a lamppost near you - only on public property though please - the politics of graffiti art still apply - no vandalism. And we really want to enhance nature, not damage it.
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