“… This thing is a Thneed.
A Thneed’s a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need!
It’s a shirt. It’s a sock. It’s a glove. It’s a hat.
But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that.
You can use it for carpets. For pillows! For sheets!
Or curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!”
From The Lorax, by Dr Seuss, 1971.
Playfulness, humour and nonsense are key aspects of this installation. The quirky art and illustrations of Dr Seuss has been the impetus behind the production these objects, which I see as absurd and dysfunctional. The objects and their arrangement in the space is intended to create a sense of wonder for the viewer, to experience the fun and playfulness involved in making the objects and installing them.
As a process of iteration and repetition, crochet begins with a slip knot and involves creating a series of loops using a hooked needle, altering the topology of the original material from a simple length into a complex three dimensional form. Fascination with the ability to control and manipulate these materials has driven my practice, resulting in �mutations� of traditional crochet stitches. Although techniques like crochet were almost abandoned due to the introduction of modern manufacturing, crochet has retained its thrifty nature and developed into a sophisticated craft.
My obsession with the various objects in this installation illustrates Freud�s theory of humans being �polymorphously perverse� (Wikipedia). In the early stages of an individual�s development, Freud believed that a person would find pleasure in any number and variety of objects. Freud asserted that this changed over time, as obsessions developed and formed fixations on specific objects as a child grew. Each object is a free flowing exploration of ideas, a response to my obsession, as manifested in colour, form, structure and scale.
mermaids purse 