Needle Work Needle Play

How long is a piece of string?

There’s an immeasurable number of answers to this question, but almost just as baffling is how many things you can do with one.

Setting needlecraft free from it’s Grip ‘n’ Stitch frame and letting yarn’s real potential unwind is Needle Work/Needle Play, an exhibition knitting together (symbolically, of course) the works of nine contemporary Australian artists tackling the age-old craft in newfangled ways.

Witness colourful plots being weaved through the realms of drawing, portraiture, soft sculpture, installation, jewellery and even footwear. Cross-stitches are intentionally tacked on outside of the lines, whimsical critters move from kitschy bedspreads into the third dimension, and inspiration is garnered everywhere from geometric codes to tattoo conventions in Berlin. The Sydney-based sisters behind MaricorMaricar have even fused needlework with their striking typography works.

Bet you never thought the love child of mathematical calculations and Nana’s favourite pastime would turn out looking like this.