One of the biggest problems in trying to engage people about climate change is that it’s a very abstract idea. Apart from all the controversy at the moment that is distracting attention and understanding from the very worrying facts gathered by thousands of the world’s leading scientists, it still remains very far removed from people’s everyday lives.
However, this is not the case with this new worldwide travelling exhibition, HYPERBOLIC CROCHET CORAL REEF: A WOOLLY WONDER due to open at the Irish Science Gallery next week. Not for the first time I have noticed that there are very intriguing grassroot ideas coming from the craft world. Have you heard of ‘craft activism?‘ Well, just lets say, don’t under-estimate craft creators. Try imagining local craft gatherings, and the power of having to understand first, then create work around the topic of Climate Change, over cups of tea. Probably could be one of the most clever ideas in improving science literacy perhaps? I’ve also heard women leading projects to do with the environment with simple bread-making – I think it has to start in the home don’t you think?
The crafts sector is also well placed I think to further ideas about sustainability at a very everyday level. How can this be? Many in this area I know are already very comfortable with sourcing their materials locally (going up to local farmers to grab wool offcuts etc), recycling and incorporating found or unused items in their work and they have come up with terms such as ‘up-cycling’. I have it on good advice from a leading Irish felter, Nicola Brown, that this is a known term in felters circles where you create new works from old, for example turning the jumper your friend accidentally shrunk into a trendy, fasion-statement, upcylced bag.
The travelling crochet underwater reef grows at every location and many crafts people in Ireland have been submitted pieces to it. And there is science in the crochet too, methods of stitches that when repeated form undulating hyperboles. So the crochet material grows into forms like what you would see on coral reefs. It all ties in nicely with drawing attention to one of the most beautiful sites in the world, the Great Barrier Reef, which is dying from warmer sea temperatures. (Psst, I use to crochet believe it or not as a teenager, so I’m going to find a minute to help these Aussie sisters out – are you going to?)
In coral reefs we witness an endless whimsical diversity – loopy kelps, fringed anemones, crenellated corals, curlicued sponges. All these forms are variations of a mathematical structure known as hyperbolic space. Though mathematicians had long believed this space was impossible, nature has been playing with its permutations for hundreds of millions of years. In 1997, Dr Daina Taimina of Cornell University realised how to make models of this geometry using the art of crochet. Building on Dr Taimina’s techniques through elaborations of her original crochet code, the Wertheim sisters have spent the past five years developing an ever-evolving taxonomy of reef-life forms. See more at www.sciencegallery.com, opens 20.3.10-11.6.10, special preview this Friday 19.3.10, but you need to book.
Have a look at this and the importance of thinking of kindergarten and
‘play-tanks’ to improve everyone’s engagement with science
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PS
Thanks to whoever nominated my blog for the best Arts & Culture blog for the 2010 Irish Blog Awards, it seems to have made it to the short-list!! I also recently attended the first WordPress blog camp in Kilkenny – what fun and such a lot going on there to help people connect and grow audiences in all sorts of topics. Highly recommend anyone thinking of bringing their knowledge to online audiences to attend next years WordCamp; the venue and topics were excellent!
PPS You might notice that you can share, comment on my info more easily, just hit the icons below – all tips from Wordcamp Ireland in Kilkenny.
And Happy St Patrick’s Day, I entered a film again into the WyllieOHagan 2010 St Patrick’s Youtube film festival - celebrating all of Ireland’s creativity online for the past 4 years , have a look and enjoy.
Related posts:
- Great poster designers create for climate change in Ljubljana: a post for Blog Action Day
- Suwarrow 'atoll is a living island'- Behind the scenes of 'once i counted birds' film
- Thinning to easily create an ecologically & economically sustainable forest, in South Carlow, Ireland
- Dancing to our Cultures-Futures today
- Bob Dylan to The Strokes: more classic climate change songs
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