Some corner.

During the Residency my plan is to develop and work on two different projects. One is a piece called “Angel’s Nightie”, a human sized Chrysalis-Body-bag. I’ve already written about this piece a bit on my website: www.walkintomyparlour.com
The other piece, “small comfort”, had its starting point in the fairy-tale “Wild Swans” (but it has diverged significantly since then). “Wild Swans” is about a girl who, in order to restore her eleven brothers back to their human form (they have been turned into swans) has to make eleven shirts for them. These shirts are knitted from nettles that she has to gather from graveyards at night and during this time she is not able/allowed to utter a single word. Often in fairy tales Swans are a metaphor for death. And how can she bring them back to life? Her brothers? Her men? Through this act of making.
I decided to set this piece, which I envision as a Performance/Installation, during the time of WW1. The more I researched this the more I realised that I wouldn’t be making eleven shirts out of nettle yarn or fabric but that I would be knitting, as for the Soldiers on the Front, making “comforts” for them whilst they were in the trenches.
At first, whilst looking for authentic patterns, I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t find a pattern for a long-sleeved knitted top. One which I could knit eleven times. Instead I found patterns for balaclavas, rifle mittens, chest protectors and so on. And then it suddenly dawned on me: The very fact of this lack of wholeness, this fragmentation was like a metaphor for the explosion and mutilation, the blowing apart and scattering of the human body into separate body parts across a muddy field. And so “small comfort” consists of knitting: 11 Balaclavas, 11 Chest protectors, 11 Body belts, 22 Trench hoses/long socks, 22 sleeves and 22 rifle mittens. Not in nettle. And not in Khaki or any kind of army colour, but in white. White for Peace.