22 November 2006

Knitted Ferrari


craft research
Just thought I would add this posting of a Knitted Ferrari that appeared on BBC breakfast news the other day. Any comments?

Lauren Porter’s Knitted Ferrari
Sarah Myerscough Fine Art
(Monday 27th November to Friday 1st December)




In Laurens Porter’s full size knitted Ferrari we find the fusion of the seemingly incompatible. The most aspirational of all consumer products is presented in the medium most quintessentially ‘home-spun’. The masculine is brought together with the feminine, soft with hard, young with old and the fast with the slow - this particular Ferrari was 10 months in production. If you were to ask what the opposite of Ferrari might be – could the answer be knitting?

The beauty of this piece is not just in the simplicity with which these associations and stereotypes are challenged; the positivitey with which Lauren raises these questions is just as immediate. Stressing the importance she places on using humour and optimism to put across a deeper meaning, Lauren especially wants people who don’t normally go to art galleries to see her work.

The wide appeal of this piece can be seen in the breath of interest in it - exhibited in both the British International Motor Show in the Sunday Times VIP Super Car Section and at the Alexandra Palace for the Stitch and Knit expo. ‘I get men admiring the racing lines and old women admiring the stitching’ Lauren says, and likes the way that people walk away from it with a smile on there face.

A controversial cross between a Testa Rossa and a 355, this version includes windscreen wipers, wing mirrors, low profile tires and, of course, the famous badge (here hand embroidered). Having already drawn a great deal of attention to itself, having been featured in the Times, the Sun and on BBC 1 already this year, the red knitted Ferrari will now be on sale at Sarah Myerscough Fine Art.

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