Knitting Nottingham Bonington Gallery, Nottingham

Knitting Nottingham  Bonington Gallery, Nottingham

Major exhibition, Knitting Nottingham places the spotlight on the Nottingham’s position as a world centre of creativity and innovation. It has been organised by Nottingham Trent University at Bonington Gallery, as part of this year’s anniversary of 170 years of art and design. Rather than just include conventional knitted pieces, on display will be tea sets made from electro-plated knit, exhibits by internationally renowned designers, samples of 3D print combined with knitwear and technology embedded into yarn.

Visitors will be introduced to the technological advances made over the centuries within knitting and the medium’s vast potential, as Ian Mcinnes, Principal Lecturer in Fashion Knitwear and Textile Design at the University explains “We are delighted to have a diverse range of well-established and new emerging creatives who use knitting to explore innovative ideas and products. This exhibition is a milestone in capturing the history of knitting innovation in Nottingham and its international reach and showcasing how this history has influenced and inspired future focused research and the global knit and textile industries.”

Current research into the potential of knitted structures being developed at Nottingham Trent University will be on show, including work by academics Will Hurley and Catherine Challender who have machine-knit a complex structure resembling the delicate individual bronchial tubes of a pair of lungs. Danish fashion designer, Henrik Vibskov, renowned for his use of knit not only in fashion but also in interior design and art installations, will be showing five pieces of work selected from collections made during his career.

Other exhibits on display will include five pieces of work from Danish fashion designer, Henrik Vibskov, renowned for his use of knit not only in fashion but also in interior design and art installations; and collaborative pieces from Laura McPherson who takes the 3D element of knit a stage further in working with designer Mark Beecroft and using elements of 3D printed materials within her knits to create movement and flexibility within printed forms. Visitors on the opening day on 6 November were encouraged to wear an item of knitwear and have their picture taken to add to a growing “knit wall” within the gallery’s atrium space.

Knitting Nottingham, until 28 November, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham Trent University, School of Art & Design, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG.

Credits
1. Emma Lundgren, courtesy of Nottingham Trent University.