Research project funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Royal College of Art Development Fund (RCA).

The Perfect – Alex, 2007
machine knitted wool and acrylic yarn 

580 × 920 mm

The Perfect – Eddie, 2007

machine knitted wool and acrylic yarn

450 × 240 mm


In the collection of Spring Studios, London

The Perfect – Billy
, 2007

machine knitted wool and acrylic yarn

450 × 240 mm
In the collection of Spring Studios, London

The Perfect – Tilak, 
2007

machine knitted wool and acrylic yarn

1400 × 1050 mm


The Perfect, 2007
machine knitted wool 

Dimensions variable 


Installed at KODE – kunstmuseene i Bergen, Norway

The Perfect Skins, 2007
machine knitted wool, metal rail
1800 × 800 × 100 mm

“It’s not perfect, but who cares?” Well I do. I enjoy imperfection in you and yours but not in me and mine. I am very attracted to the imperfections, failings, and roughness of the material world. I enjoy the evidence of human hands, the inevitable wear and repair of objects. I love the obviously hand-made. But I suffer from being a perfectionist.  

This body of work deals with the constant drive for perfection. It is made using technology that was developed to achieve perfection. Technology developed for mass production to make garment multiples that are exactly the same as each other: garments that do not require any hand finishing, garments whose manufacture does not produce any waste, garments whose production does not require the human touch. Garments that are, in fact, perfect.

I have produced my knitted multiples through the use of a Shima Seiki WholeGarment® machine (a computerised, automated, industrial V-bed flat machine, which is capable of knitting a three-dimensional seamless garment). These multiples take the form of life size, three-dimensional human bodies. I have combined them in a variety of different ways to create large-scale knitted sculptures and installations.
Perfectionism is associated with good craftsmanship, something to aspire to. I aim for perfection in all aspects of my life, my work and myself. It can be very debilitating and exhausting and it is of course, unachievable.

Photography: Damian Chapman, Douglas Atfield, Ben Coode-Adams

2007
Machine knitted yarn, cellophane, buttons

1300 × 560 mm

Installation around pillar in Wintry, Lounge/Monika Bobinska, London
2 November – 9 December 2007


Exhibiting alongside: Su Blackwell, Debbie Booth, Andrew Hladky, Sophie Horton, Adam King, Gavin Maughfling, Lucinda Oestreicher, Laure Prouvost, Greg Rook, Kate Street and Gillian Wylde

2007
wool, plastic cone, knitting needles

650 × 200 × 200 mm – 400 × 180 × 130 mm

2005
Hand knitted 2-ply Shetland Lace Yarn 

1000 × 1000 mm
Knitted by Audrey Yates
Commissioned by Pump House Gallery, London

Installation in Ceremony, Pump House Gallery, London 17 August – 9 October 2005. Shown alongside Serena Korda’s Love, Honour and Obey, 2004

My work often employs humour and text to communicate messages. I like to play on words to make visual suggestions. In this commissioned piece, “It Sucks”, I subvert the traditional hand knitted Shetland Lace christening shawl to communicate the very mixed feelings that I had upon the birth of my daughter and becoming a new mother.

Photography: Colin Guilemet

2002
machine knitted wool, knitting needles
2000 × 680 × 380 mm
In the collection of the Crafts Council, London

Craft Kills is a self-portrait based on the well-recognised image of Saint Sebastian being martyred. Instead of arrows piercing my skin I have knitting needles. The title immediately brings to mind the old adage of “dying for your art” but what I am much more concerned with is the stereotypical image that craft, and in particular knitting, has, of being a passive, benign activity. How would it be if craft was considered as dangerous or subversive?   Since conceiving of this piece the world suffered the events of September 11th and its aftermath. You can no longer fly with knitting needles in your hand luggage. Knitting is now classed as a dangerous activity.

(Statement written for Flexible 4: Identities catalogue, 2004)

Photography: Douglas Atfield