Yarn-bombing is not about spinning stories that fail dismally. Rather, it’s a technique of bringing craft skills and aesthetics to the streets, in effect creating graffiti out of thread and wool by using crochet or macramé or some other form of knitting.
It’s a form of street art that would seem more at home in your grandmother’s house but has a huge following in Texas, London and Vancouver. In fact one of the leading practitioners of yarn bombing, WooWork (aka Howie Woo), did a recent installation at Vancouver’s Davie Street Gardens, installing loads of crocheted water droplets, each one with either an amigurumi* cat or dog’s head poking out of it. Apparently it does rain cats and dogs at the Winter Olympics.
Here in Perth and Captain Plaknit appears to be the only yarn bomber on the Perth scene. His work is relatively new and at current involves street sign wraps in vibrant crocheted colours. But as with all forms of street art, this particular genre holds great potential. Captain Plaknit took a moment to chat about yarn-bombing.
What does street art mean to you?
As a crocheter and yarn-tagger, street art to me is personal, political and powerful, as well as sometimes funny or heart-warming. A crocheted tag can juxtapose other urban/street art, reference it, or add to it. It is tactile, and can be interactive – people can take it down and use it, add to it, play with it. I like to tag places that mean something to me (like Freedom Centre which has inspired me hugely as a queer person, or the library my Dad took me to every weekend when I was a kid). I also like to challenge observers, get them thinking about what art is, how urban spaces can be beautified or used to present art.
What can you tell us about the materials and techniques you use?
I like to use bright colours, and I work with mostly recycled/hand-me-down yarn. Using synthetic yarns/materials is a plus when tags are out in the weather, as they hold their colour better. My skills as a crocheter are pretty basic – but that is what is so great about yarn tagging! You don’t need to be a pro. Basic stitches still look great when wrapped around poles, trees, bus stops… I get a sense of purpose from my crochet, even though I can’t make a whole garment!
How essentially do you yarn-bomb?
I usually have a project in mind before I start. I stitch up pieces at home, often visiting the tag site to check dimensions or overall feel over a week or so. It usually takes between 10 and 20 minutes to stitch up (depending on the size and complexity of the piece), and I hang around and take a few pics for posterity if I have time. I also like to have a yarn about my tagging (pardon the dodgy pun), and tell stories about my tags on my blog.
What can you tell us about the yarn-bombing movement?
Yarn-bombing is a world wide phenomenon. I am not sure exactly when the movement started, but it is fairly safe to say that Knitta, a yarn-boming/arts collective from Texas were one of the first to get graffiti-ing with yarn about 5 years ago. Different taggers/groups have different focuses, or purposes for their work – from large community knit projects, to carefully sculpted animals, to buses covered in knitting, to adding something into a natural landscape, or just popping something furry onto a door handle for fun! As a fairly new arts movement, I see lots of potential for some really interesting projects.
*Amigurumi is the official name for creating crochet or knitted stuffed toys.
http://captainplaknit.blogspot.com
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
