Little monsters: How 'brutal knitting' lets this artist challenge her inner demons
Tracy Widdess finds catharsis in a very unique form of textile art
"Brutal knitting" is the term B.C.-based artist Tracy Widdess has coined for her unique form of textile art. You won't forget her knitted creations once you've seen them — they're garishly coloured masks with weird facial protuberances or dangling eyeballs (strangely indebted to the movie C.H.U.D., as Widdess explains). They're at once funny and confrontational, in keeping with their "brutal knitting" nickname.
It might sound strange that the practice of knitting such monstrous characters has been a therapeutic activity for Widdess, who struggles with her mood. But in this short doc directed by filmmaker Lisa Wu, Widdess opens up about the peace she finds in creating her knitted monsters.
Lisa Wu is a freelancer filmmaker based in Vancouver who loves creating visual stories through photo, video and design. You can see her other work for CBC Arts here, here and here.
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