‘Woolly’ thinking finds a home in Liverpool

Nov 29 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

A WOOLLY jumper is a must at this time of year – but you won’t have seen anything like this.

The giant knitting of Danish artist Karl-Christian Geleff is now on display in the city.

Geleff is one of the artists taking part in the Bluecoat Display Centre exhibition Heritage With a Twist, part of the programme of Scandinavian arts and culture festival Nice 08.

His knitting – made with steel wool and electronic needles to amplify the gentle sound of the action – was created in the centre during sessions for the public to visit and watch.

Geleff’s unique style came about in 1998 while studying his MA in fine art in Manchester.

“It developed from there, as I had a lot of steel wool and I wanted to find out what I could do with it. Since then, I’ve been knitting all over the place,” he says.

“But it sort of has a weird effect on people watching me knit – it’s something familiar but being used in quite a quirky way.”

The exhibition, featuring some of the best Scandinavian artists and jewellery designers, is one of the cornerstones of Nice 08, a programme of concerts and arts events from the Nordic countries and the Faroe Islands.

The fledgling festival has struggled after losing all its sponsorship in the Icelandic financial collapse, and is holding a fundraising auction today in a bid to recoup some much-needed cash.

Festival director Ingi Thor Johnsson said Nice 08 desperately needs to find £20,000 to cover its costs after losing some £60,000 of assured Icelandic sponsorship in the unforeseen banking crisis.

“Really we need someone to come in to help us save the festival,” he said.

“It’s had rave reviews, we’ve got great plans for 2009, and we’re very pleased, because we’ve obviously carving a niche.

“We’re something new that people are interested in and we just need someone behind us.

“We were fine until October when we lost all of our sponsors. We have had to cancel events because we just can’t afford to do them and it’s a real shame.”

Events such as How Much of a Viking are You?, DNA testing and Biennial exhibition 5 Nordic Women proved enormously popular, but some scheduled concerts including a special festive carol concert, due to have been held at Liverpool Cathedral tonight, had to be cancelled.

The fundraising auction is being held between 2pm and 4pm at the Bluecoat Display Centre.

FOR more see www.nice08.org. Knitting and prints by Karl-Christian Geleff are also for sale.

vickyanderson