Not long to go now, Desire Lines is opening in just over two weeks at Artstation on Auckland’s Ponsonby Road…

Curated by: Jill Segedin
Artists include: Marion Bawdon, Angela Carter, Susie Crow, Amanda Levey with Rachel Grimwood, Zoë Nash, Becky Nunes, Lyneemaree Patterson and Caroline Powley.

21 July to 7 August 2010
Opening: 5 to 7pm, Tuesday 20 July 2010

The term desire lines refers to lines (traces, tracks and pathways) that show where individuals choose to travel, which might challenge the officially established routes (Bachelard, 1994). Lines of desire can form for many different reasons – perhaps for expediency, efficiency or due to laziness (short cuts) or as challenge and subversion or habit and for fun. Arguably an artwork is or at least can be such a trace or a path. It develops and reveals a preferred or chanced upon navigation of materials, space and ideas, and accommodate subjectivity, spontaneity, intuition, process and expression.

Marion Bawdon, Holding on to nothing (Detail) 2010.

Marion Bawdon, Catch me when I fall (Detail) 2010.

Becky Nunes run, repeat, 2010.

The Crochet Coral Reef installation is over and has been taken down…  good news is it is not over!  Glenys is keeping our Seagardens Aotearoa project alive. 

This is one of the pieces I have been working on for Desire Lines, a group exhibition happening in July this year.  Actually I’ve been quite frantic and distracted by the Crochet Coral Reef Project happening at the Auckland Museum as well, so these little babies have been on the sideline, but serendipitously both projects work really well together and I want to make even more weird crochet forms!

For Desire Lines I have been thinking a lot about how we humans mess with our environment and the possible ramifications of our destructive behaviour.  This was highlighted by the recent  toxic sea slug scare in 2009 after a few dogs died apparently after eating the little slugs on beaches around Auckland Habour, these sea slugs now are possibly an ever-present danger! Not that anyone wants to be panicking about it all.

This news of toxic sea slugs reminded me of John Wyndham’s novel, The Kraken Wakes, (here’s a good review by another reader..) one of my favourite reads.  The deep sea trenches are colonised by aliens, aggression between ourselves and the aliens ensues resulting in catastrophic environmental changes, remarkably similar to what we are experiencing due to global warming and the damage we are doing to the marine environment.

So little is known about the deeps and the creatures that inhabit them, yet we continue to overfish and degrade the oceans.  Perhaps it is no surprise that there may be creatures that can be a threat to ourselves and our enjoyment of the marine environment?  Or perhaps after thoughtlessly dumping toxic, and even nuclear waste in the oceans, the sea itself or the animals that inhabit them are now becoming more toxic to our own life?

Here are a few photos of the new pieces I have completed…

I’m just so excited about this one, the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project is at Auckland Museum right now!  This afternoon I dropped in to do some work with the lovely ladies busily hooking away and spreading the stitchy love.  I brought in with me the little one above, I had finished it off today and couldn’t wait to see how the project was growing.

So if you are even slightly crafty and nerdy, or into maths or art, or craftsy community projects, or the environment and ecology (that should actually be all of you) best you get yourself along to the Auckland Museum over the next few weeks to have a look at the crochet coral reef that is growing on a wall in the oceans gallery.  Better yet, take your crochet hook and some fibre and get making!

For a really good clip about this international project (and a much better explanation about the mathematics behind the hyperbolic plane than I can give you!) go to this TED talk.

Mermaid’s Purse is the current featured seller on Felt.co.nz…  go and have a look.

Sue Pickernell did a beautiful job of installing The View From Here at the Reclaim to Fame exhibition last week – here are some photos.  If you’re on Waiheke this month do visit the gallery, the exhibition theme was around the idea of our footprint, and all work submitted needed to be at least 80% reclaimed material.

The View From Here is made entirely from Foodtown plastic bags, and yes, it took months and no I did not count the number of bags I used…

Mermaid’s Purse will be there, will you?

Date: Sunday, May 3, 2009

Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm

Location: 32 Clarence Street, Devonport, Auckland

Kartfbomb is here again, wohoo!  Come and check it out…  I have a new range of Love Stuck Rock Stars, and more new needle wallets as well as the old favourites, the vanilla cupcakes (including loads more mini cupcakes).

Come along to the Grey Lynn Community Centre for Kraftbomb on Sunday March 29th, and check out some funky krafts and other goodies…