This would have been perfect for my dissertation, but even after a year or so of completing it, it is still a subject that really interests me. After studying and examining archival photographs and footage of female activists, namely images from Greenham Commons Women's Peace Camp, artist Ellen Lesperance has painstakingly recreated and two-dimensionalised the sweaters worn my such women in protest and demonstration by painting the patterns of the knitwear onto gridded paper with gouache. Every detail is carefully considered, and some creatively imagined, such as colour or other areas of the garment that can only be partially seen within the original image. They are also reminiscent of old Samplers and would have given me lots of inspiration for my final year design project. Some other of Lesperance's works also commemorates individuals such as Italian artist and activist Pippa Bacca, who was raped and killed on a symbolic peace protest on her way to Jerusalem. Needlework has always been political, most notably in the form of the original suffragette banners. Joanne Turney in 'The Culture of Knitting' said "The collaboration between handwork and political intent can be assessed as a form of literally 'making' change, symbolically harnessing the power of the individual to make a difference." I think this is why knitwear can be so powerful, as at the same time, it is also synonymous with both femininity and individuality.

"I like the idea that, for example, through the recreation of a Greenham sweater, a new 'wearer' might be beckoned." - Ellen Lesperance.


Also, after looking at her C.V, I discovered she lives on one 'Rosa Parks Way'. That's awesome. ^_^