Cast Off

Cast Off

2020 _ old t-shirts, old bedsheets, knitting needles, crochet hooks, yarn, rotary cutter, cutting board, table, chairs, bench, carpet, wood, metal, cardboard

This installation began as an inquiry into the material life cycle of cheap one-use printed cotton t-shirts from events at Concordia University. Cast Off proposes knitting as a solution – a practical craft for transforming fibers into blankets, slippers, gloves, sleeping mats, and other useful objects.

Using a three-month artist residency as a vessel, this project explored the craft of knitting from a practical, experiential perspective. By constructing a space designed for knitting and using it to occupy the white cube through individual and group knitting, Cast Off challenges the idea that art is static, completed, and formal through the exhibition of an active, functional, and evolving practice – engaging the public through conversations and collective craft.

As a part of this installation, Concordia University’s Sustainability Ambassadors were invited to host their Knitting Though the Climate Crisis knitting circle in the gallery space, animating the practice of knitting while discussing sustainable practices. Gallery patrons were invited to bring a knitting or crocheting project, or come and start a new one.