Hand-knitting is used in some KNITSONIK projects to embed ideas about listening or sounds in everyday garments. In Legwarmers for soundwalking, legwarmers featuring motifs from electronic recording equipment – ‘play’, ‘pause’ and ‘record’ buttons – combine traditional hand-knitting practices with the aesthetics and concepts of phonography. These legwarmers are a conspicuous material cue designed to relate walking with processes of consciously listening to the sounds around us and committing them to memory. The idea is that wearers of Legwarmers for soundwalking are inspired through wearing the design to think of themselves and their walking body as a sophisticated sound recording device.
This is a custom-made, own-design, hand-knitted recording tunic feat. holes for microphone cables to be sequestered inside the garment; deep pockets for securing hard disk recorders whilst out in the field; a celebratory motif of ‘play’ ‘pause’ and ‘record’ buttons, and double-thickness stranded colour work strategically placed around neck, bum and sleeves, to keep drafts out whilst standing still in windy places, listening to sounds.
Other KNITSONIK hand-knits…
Wow! Just received The Knitter and so thoroughly enjoyed the article on your work and book that I’ve leapt straight to your website and been further blown away. I’m driven by colour, probably stemming from obsession with Kaffe Fassett over the last 30 years but have never really been brave enough to to experiment in such a way. As a fellow Redingensian the town will never look the same again! The first place that leaps to mind for further investigation are the houses between cemetery junction and Palmer park – I’ve long admired the subtle grey and cream brickwork patterns.
I’d never thought of the 13 bends in painterly terms before, probably cos I’d crash my motorbike if I wasn’t concentrating, but on the daily commute to Benson many years ago I was intrigued by the wildflowers in the verges but was always going too fast to really see what they were.
As a spinner and dyer as well as knitter I can only say a huge thankyou for inspiring me to try and take it all to another level.
Hello
i was researching the idea of making a audio cardigan for Ergo Phizmiz and tweeting him about it. He has sent me his neck measurements. Then to my pleasant surprise i discovered you site! and your ideas and experiments with the sonic art of wool. So i wonderd if i could bend your ear on my sonic garment ? Would love to chat further.
Thanks
P.