Weiskamp has recently revealed their latest Lightbox display by artist Jenna Richards. The display was made from knitted fabric remnants and will be up until June 15th at Weiskamp’s office and print-house on South Neil St.
The installation is comprised of repurposed fabric remnants from craft stores locally in Champaign and regionally in central Illinois. A remnant is a small remaining quantity of something, often leftover or unused — but not necessarily unwanted. The fabrics were chosen from popular fabrics in the past month, and the intent in choosing each fabric was so that patterns and colors may be read as screen printed. In using remnant fabric, I am supporting the idea that not everything fits into a standard, that the pre-measured is not necessarily exactly what is needed, and therefore is often left discarded.
In sourcing the material at big-box craft stores it ensures that the fabric is typically used for sewing or quilting functional objects and garments. There is significance in the intended use of the material because I am purposefully removing the material from its functional application. I am also intentionally mis-pairing material and the process. I achieve this by knitting fabric, where knitting is typically with yarn, and fabric is most often sewed. I am working against the concept that materials and processes have only one use and can be conducted incorrectly.
The pattern is comprised of a twisted stitch pattern. This is where one knits through the ‘incorrect’ part of the loop; this is how I originally learned to knit. I continue to knit with twisted stitches even after this ‘mistake’ became evident to me while reading Knitting for Anarchists by author Anna Zilboorg. This process of using an ‘incorrect’ knit stitch is important because I believe there are no incorrect methods of knitting, only different techniques. Not only are twisted stitches significant because I knit with that method, but they are also the only way that that knitting is applied in many crafts, for example in knitting looms and cord makers.
The notion that there is no wrong way is reinforced in my site-specific installation in many ways. I am using the remnant material that didn’t fit into the predetermined measurement, using fabric beyond its typical intent, using knitting with non-traditional materials and using the ‘incorrect’ twisted stitch.