Achillea, 2021
Blu Jay (they/them he/him she/her)
the cat who knits:
“First of all, welcome! This piece was the catalyst for this exhibition. Graham first approached me back in early 2021 with the idea of combining knitwear and florals together. We decided on the notion of deconstructing and rebuilding. Graham brought me this dark yellow jumper he found from Savers. I took the sleeves apart and knitted on top of the existing form. There were many different kinds of yarn incorporated in this look because I wanted to create textures and layers. Graham then masterfully wove these dried yellow flowers, Achilleas, onto the deconstructed garment.
After we got the piece done, I wanted to breathe life into the garment through movement. I found Blu Jay through Instagram and they were the perfect person to do so. We met for the first time at Gloria Cafe, and it was magic! Blu needed no direction during the photo shoot and the video we made together was done in one take with no prior preparation or rehearsal. I was so taken aback by the piece and reached out to Graham right away telling him we will turn this into a series!”
Blu Jay is a Native American multidisciplinary artist, working primarily in illustration and performance art. They live and work in Narrm, where they moved from Adelaide in 2012.
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