Aberrant Knitting of Freddie Robbins

Freddie Robbins is a UK based artist.Her imaginative knitted creations are neither functional, nor useful; nevertheless there is a certain beauty about them. Her machine knitted works are technically perfect .She creates seemingly harmless objects - toys, dolls, tea cosies, gloves .Look closely and you find something oddly disturbing and macabre hidden in them.

She uses knitting, a traditional female occupation, in wool which is safe and non-threatening, to create pieces that explore  themes that subvert the medium entirely.She wants to make craft appear dangerous and sexy.Her subversive knitting and embroidery explore dark themes including violence, murder, pain and loss-often with an unexpected humorous twist. 

I am particularly interested in Freddie's tea cosies .Tea cosies are warm fuzzy benign domestic things but not Freddi's tea cosies.These are shaped like houses but not any houses.They are models of British houses in which women had been murdered or have committed murders.


Curator Lucy Day felt my work bears a certain similarity to Freddie Robin's work in terms of contradictions.My characters appear beautiful, harmless, cutout doll like but there is something awry or devious about them .They are victims or aggressors of violent acts about to get committed.You wish to touch them and are wary of them at the same time.

 Reference : http://cast-on.com/04/features/the-knitted-art-of-freddie-robins/ 

Christiana (2002)

Eleanor (2002)

Ethel (2002)

Styllou (2002)