TRICOTAUTOMAT2016
On-going participatory project of playful design. The knit photo booth invites people to enter the photo booth, take a picture and have their photo stripe knitted live and real time. Connecting an original manual knitting machine via Arduino with an open-source electronic board allows a real time control over the needles and one can directly knit digital patterns. A photo is taken, the computer translates the image into needle positions, the mechanical movement- the hand on the machine sledge going left to right- knits row by row. Human, materials and technology – analogue and digital, a story of making kin.
It takes the form of participatory workshops where people can engage with the technology, knit a small sample of their portrait and take it home with them (no previous knitting experience required).
The project focus lies on the impact of the re-interpretation of craft, digital design and fabrication in society through a playful and instant interaction, raising questions as democratisation of art and design, the use of open-source for empowerment, skill exchange, fabrication processes, fair trade, awareness for consumption and social relations.
knit large scale installation - Cultural Threads 2019, City of greater Dandenong