WHODUNNKNIT?
A postmodern take on traditional graffiti, Papercut goes undercover in search of yarnstormers and bumps into a very shady character indeed — or is she?
Interviewed by Helen Barker
As I walk through the dreary streets of London, I come across what can only be described as the most fascinatingly skilled, knitted street art and I find my mood automatically lifting. I discovered the art of yarnstorming and had to find out more. So, I tracked down a notorious yarnstormer that goes by the name of Deadly Knitshade.
Okay, that sounds sinister. Lauren O’Farrell, the talented woman behind Deadly Knitshade, tells me that yarnstorming is much more than nighttime graffiti and planning is key.
What motivates you to get on with yarnstorming in the middle of the night?
Sleep is for the weak! At least that’s what I tell myself when I’m embroidering eyes on something at 4 AM. I love what I do and I want to do it insanely well or there’s no point at all. Half-arsed graffiti, when people just yarnstorm for the sake of it makes me sad. It reminds me of those spray-can graffiti artists who tag their name in the same dull way time after time which isn’t for anyone else but themselves. If you’re going to make something, then make something fantabulous that drops jaws, I say.
As you have knit for six years now, where did yarnstorming all begin?
I have to confess; I’ve never knitted a jumper or finished a pair of socks. I got bored of conventional knitting quite early on. I’m not a garment knitter. Odd, as I’m quite happy to spend eighty hours knitting an eight-meter giant squid. As far as I know, I was the first person to innovate and adapt the putting-knit-cosies-on-things style of graffiti knitting. I love to tell stories with my knitting. After the Phone Box Cosy, which I yarnstormed in Parliament Square with my Knit the City collective, the thrill of just covering things in knitting had already worn off. I want my graffiti to have a voice and above all, a sense of humor. So, I came up with the “stitched story” idea which uses amigurumi-knit creatures and items to create a whole tale via a street-art installation. I planned Knit the City’s “Web of Woe” to test the idea. We made forty-four screaming creatures, one hungry spider and a thirteen-foot web. It worked beautifully and I never went back to cosies since. There are people all over the world conjuring stitched stories these days. The idea of that whole ball of crazy coming from a few rows in my head always makes me grin like a loon.
With your book Knit the City modernizing knitting and crocheting, have you seen an increase in interest from people wanting to learn how to knit as a direct result of yarnstorming?
Craft has become popular for lots of reasons, but I’m thrilled to think that Knit the City has something to do with people wandering into the crafty fold. I’ve had people tell me they’re picking up their needles after seeing my wooly Protest Mouse outside St. Paul’s Cathedral to do mini-protest knits of their own (or make cross-stitch protest banners like my friends at the Craftivist Collective). I’ve seen countless projects added to the Ravelry, a social network for knitters and crocheters (which boasts a whopping 2 million members), either made from patterns in my book or inspired by my antics. There’s a real buzz about craft and the handmade is everywhere. People take pride in it, whereas in the past it seemed a bit shameful to sport something your mum handmade. I love it.
Unconventionally, we’ve seen yarnstorming creations not contain yarn at all. What are some materials you’ve experimented with?
Plarchie, my giant knit squid, was made from plastic bags for two reasons. One reason, a rather dull one, was cost. The yarn for eight meters of squid would cost a fortune! The second reason was that plastic is much more sealife-like. A squid should be slippery not stroke-able!
With all of these innovations, it must be liberating to change people’s opinions on knitting.
I’m a bright-blue haired 30-something who wears Batman Converse All-Stars for a start, so the pictures that people have in their heads of floral-print and pension books are out straight away (although my hat is off to all knitting grannies, especially my own). So, knitting with plastic bags, or licorice, or noodles, or rubber bands is all part of the fun of trying something new. It might end up looking hideous but it may pleasantly surprise too. Knitting to a pattern in the yarn everyone else is using has never appealed to me. Give me a giant purple Mothra with eyelash-yarn wings any day!
Are there any challenges with these larger-than-life projects?
Time is my biggest challenge. It takes at least a few hours of preparation to make even the smallest piece and the larger ones can take months. Finding the time to fit it in and still work to make a living is crazy but always worth it.
So, between the battle of making a living and preparing a yarnstorming session, why do yarnstormers who live in commercialized Western society engage in urban art forms which offer participants little to no recognition or monetary appeal?
Graffiti and street art isn’t about money. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. We reach into our pockets to buy materials to create our art, in most cases. It’s about freedom and for me it’s sharing a stupid grin and a love of life. The idea that the streets are a gallery is one that inspires me most. Why should businesses and folks with the money to buy spaces get to have their say while we pootle along in silence? The streets are ours too, if not more so as we’re the ones who scurry about them getting on with things. I’m always surprised that more people don’t do it. It’s our world. Why shouldn’t we share it?
With such a great attitude to life, is it a battle with unhappy straight-collared councils?
In the past, it wasn’t the authorities I’ve had trouble with. I can usually talk them into letting me yarnstorm with a winning smile and a few words of explanation. The word “removable” is always a good one. The main challenge is the parade-rainers with lines like, “What a waste of perfectly good yarn and time.” Some people are horrified at the idea of knitters using yarn to create our art but are fine with other art forms using the likes of wood, bronze and paint to make theirs. People also overlook the benefits yarnstorming has on the targeted area.
The postmodern art form of yarnstorming certainly makes a cold city cosy. Are there sentiments of rebelling and reclaiming the streets against public-funded arts?
I think street artists are addicted to the idea of making the world a better place through actions of our own hands. It’s a powerful feeling to create something that will squeeze a smile out of the most stone-faced passerby. Yarnstormers are reclaiming the streets but we’re also threading a community back together. A shared experience, one that makes the day a little better, makes one care more about that area and those people. Public-funded art is fine too but the people who fund it shouldn’t be the only ones who get to choose how our streets look.
Whilst the act of storming creates discussion and teamwork, does the social aspect encourage others to participate in bringing the community together?
I don’t think it’s so much about participating. Many people are intimidated by the idea of creating something that will go on public display. Hence, all those shy graffiti knitters sneaking about in the dark, I suppose. A good shared experience gets people talking. I think it’s the idea that someone is doing something extraordinary that prompts others to step outside the box themselves whether it’s smiling at the person passing or taking up a spade and planting a graffiti flower bed. It encourages action.
In the current financial climate, it certainly brightens up the city and people take notice of their surroundings. Does your urban art last for long?
This weekend, I knitted a very quick wooly wildflower and yarnstormed it outside the York Minister Cathedral. When I passed by an hour and a half later it was gone. My pieces aren’t lasting long these days but I love that. I’m confident they’re finding happy homes and, so far, only two people have confessed to their thefts. One of them tweeted me to proudly show off my Cheshire Cat on his mantle piece.
Is there any competition between the other members of Knit the City?
Yes! Between myself, Lady Loop, The Fastener and Shorn-a-the-Dead there’s always a bit of competition to see whose yarnstorms are stolen first. They’re obviously the best ones.
It’s admirable that yarnstormers find a positive in having their hard work stolen. Are you always this understanding?
When we made the Web of Woe we did catch a group of London’s rickshaw drivers trying to make off with the spider mere hours after it went up. We made them put it back. Since then, I’m not so bothered and have learned to let go. I actually helped a young boy and his mum steal the pirate skeleton I hung from a wall in outside London’s Pirate Castle music venue. He asked so nicely if I was just leaving it there I just had to help.
Yarnstorming is clearly done with the passion of creating and sharing. Do you feel too much is read into yarnstorming? Should the public just appreciate the beautiful work that’s created?
People are constantly asking us what our political and feminist aims are. The fact is we’re artists who are women. We’re feminists because we believe everyone should have equal rights, which is common sense really. We make street art because we love it. However, there are a number of messages in what we do. Our yarnstorms aren’t thoughtless but they’re not preachy either. They’re to be taken for whatever the observer takes them for. People can enjoy the fun side, admire our desire to reclaim public spaces with our sneaky stitching, chat about seeing a traditional craft used to make modern art or see it as a campaign for more giant squid on statues. However one sees it, I don’t mind at all.
Since you’ve stormed London and Berlin, what’s next on your yarnstorming list?
You can expect a little yarnstorming in a certain city that never sleeps right around the time that my mild-mannered author self releases her next book, Stitch New York. I’m also taking part in the BT ArtBox project for the NSPCC Children’s Charity this summer as one of 100 artists creating an art installation from a telephone box. I can’t tell you what I’m planning on creating with my telephone box though. You’ll just have to wait and see. I also have some very exciting sneaky-stitching plans coming up later in the year but if I tell you any more I’d have to kill you. And no one wants that!
For further information, visit www.knitthecity.com and www.whodunnknit.com
Knit the City: A Whodunnknit Set in London (published by Summersdale)
THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE JULY 2012 ISSUE
