Say it with Knots

Taking as a point of departure an idea I first encountered whilst reading that prompted me to embark on a journey dedicated to explore knotted ropes and their agency to convey meaning. What utterly captivated my imagination I first read about in an essay by Italo Calvino titled Say it with Knots (originally published in 1984). In it he describes an exhibition about knot making and his impressions of the artefacts there as a medium for communication. After a few years of dedicated study of ropemaking with foraged fibres and knot tying, in 2025 (over 40 years after Calvino wrote about this in his essay) I am now beginning a yearlong artistic research and development funded by Arts Council’s DYCP grant to reanimate this ancient tactile craft in order to become well-versed in the language of knots.

I endeavour to create an engaging and urgent body of work in response to our current ecological times. I aim to awaken curiosity and evoke questions about interconnectedness. I'm planning to make a new series of sculptural forms using wild foraged plant fibres. I choose to source my own art materials from the local environment to minimise my carbon footprint. The process of both gathering and making cordage is beautiful, versatile and yields evocative results. The metaphors in language can offer insight into the diverse range of symbols, historical and cultural associations with strings and knots; the important role rope making technologies played in the development of civilisations.

I wish to juxtapose the natural history of the landscape where the raw materials come from with the skilful techniques the plant fibres are transformed into knotted ropeworks. I began exploring these ideas during my art residency in 2023, in Cromarty on the northern coast of the Scottish Highlands where a long history of shipping and fishing trades are present. Natural and human history intertwining in geography and cultures.

The outcome of my work hopes to inspire and transport the viewer back in time - back to the beginning, where it all started by twisting together vegetal fibres into a piece of string. Also, looking ahead into the future, an invitation to imagine new possibilities in tactile dimensions in our increasingly digitised age.

How will we continue making meaning with our hands?

How can we create in reciprocity with the more-than-human world around us?

Past Exhibitions:

• The Old Brewery at Cromarty Arts Trust Cromarty, Scottish Highlands - Dec, 2023