Saturday 6 November 2010

Co:Lab - Ganzie


The Co:Lab trio were recently asked to submit prints to this years "Yule" themed exhibition at North Rock Gallery in Lerwick. We all approached the theme in very different ways and you can see the results at the North Rock Gallery until the 24 December. You can see the other Co:Labbers posts about their work on their blogs - Andrew Morrison & Beto.
Below is a bit of insight into my print - "Ganzie".

Ganzie:
It comes to a time of year when your shorts sink down your drawer and huge ganzies (ganzie=sweater/jersey - Shetland Dialect) with amazing patterns, start to emerge from the dark dusty depths of your wardrobe.

I started spotting some of these ganzies with interesting patterns in August and kept my eye peeled for more including lots of reindeers and even one with a giraffe. This became quite addictive and I got quite obsessed. For my print I wanted to combine some of these patterns with 'knitted typography'.

The message in the print comes from some of the research. A trend called Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (www.uglychristmassweaterparty.com) where you can get tips and also buy ugly ganzies to wear at your party.


In September I spent some time working in London where I thought it would be funny to 'Facebook' my finds to share with others - Ganzie Watch.


Co:Lab work to tight deadlines - especially when working towards an exhibition - so during any free time in London I had to complete the artwork for ganzie. I had to make use of the hotel's mini fridge as a makeshift lightbox to make sure my second layer matched the first.

Some more research...



Socks:

I also produced a christmas card to match ganzie in the form of socks. The idea originates from my Uncle - whom I often receive a lovely pair of socks as a christmas gift - these come in useful in these cold months.

Socks available on etsy - http://etsy.me/b3VXgI

More prints by Co:Lab on the blog at - www.colabproject.blogspot.com/

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