hommage à ma grand-mère
My grandmother taught me to knit when I was eight years old.. After a lot of experimenting with chains, I naturally ended up knitting. This collection is an ode to her and is for everyone who wants to cherish memories in a wearable way.
ma grand-mère aurait dit qu’elle l’aurait tricoté plus régulier
My grandmother taught me to knit when I was eight years old with a patch as wide as this necklace. The scarf I wanted to make never became a scarf. Instead, she knitted something for me every year. Socks, scarves, a sweater for ballet class…. When she died, she left us unfinished knitting, “sajet” in all colors and knitting needles. Warm scarves, meanwhile, I still haven’t knit. For the titles of my works with chains, I asked my family what my grandmother would have said when she saw it. ‘But that’s not knitted right at all. I would have done it straight.’ And she would be blinded by it so she wouldn’t see the whole piece.
photo by Liesbet Bussche
I owe my patience to my grandmother. I grew up with her. One of my earliest memories is of me in her living room catching the pollen in the air without stopping. Or how I stuck beads on a knitting needle, in all possible variations. When I was done, I would return all the beads to the tin box and start over again. On New Year’s Eve, when I was eight, we spent the evening together. That evening she taught me to knit. To knit and purl. My designs led me to a ball of wool, my experiments brought me to knotting a chain. My thoughts and trials came together in a little knitwear of chain. A tribute to my grandmother, in other words. She gave me my first bracelet, my first jewellery box, my first knitting lesson. She died unexpectedly during a time when I was abroad a lot. Deceased loved ones don’t return, but we cherish the moments that we had together. We carry them with us. Close to our heart.
ma grand-mère aurait dit que ça n’a rien de spécial
I tested out many chains to knit with, explored many elements of textiles using metals. And as such, a buttonhole is an accidental ring. This ring brings back the feeling from my childhood, when I could drop a necklace into my palm and pull it back up; again and again. It is recognizable to many. A cherishment of a rash time. A moment to dream away.
photo by Rikki Siebens
ma grand-mère aurait dit que ça n’a rien de spécial
photo by Rikki Siebens
hommage à ma grand-mère
photo by Rikki Siebens
