Shane Waltener installing Another World Wide Web

The first piece to be installed in Touchstones Rochdale’s new exhibition Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet was Another World Wide Web by artist Shane Waltener.

Shane Waltener is a London-based artist and an associate lecturer in 3D Design at Camberwell College, University of London. He studied at Chelsea College of Art, gaining an MA in Sculpture and then went on to take further study at the College of Fine Arts of Marseille.

Working in sculpture, installation and performance that explore ideas of craft traditions, processes and techniques, Shane has exhibited his work widely in various galleries and museums around the world.

The work on display Another World Wide Web was originally commissioned by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the Fracture Gallery in Melbourne, Australia. It is a new version of A World Wide Web which was initially conceived for the Radical Lace, Subversive Knitting exhibition at the Museum Of Art and Design in New York. Knitted in elastic, the piece is designed to accommodate a variety of spaces. The flexibility of the thread allows for the piece to be moulded by the architecture of the venue in which the piece is installed while drawing the viewer’s attention to features and areas that might otherwise be overlooked. The eyes of the webs act as viewfinders bringing into focus as you walk around the piece shifting perspectives of objects and perspectives within the building. Installed here, the piece highlights the architectural features contained within the ceiling of the gallery whilst also bringing different areas of the exhibition together.

Knit One, Purl One: Contemporary Knitting and Crochet opens Saturday 1st May 2010.

Why not come along to Knitty Gritty Goes Large on Saturday 22nd May 1-4pm?