Lyndall Phelps

Rope

2001 onwards

Begun in 2001, Rope is a series of hand knitted ropes. It will eventually consist of 10 individual ropes, all 100 metres in length; combined they will measure a kilometre. The first four ropes, which are red, blue, yellow and green are complete; the fifth, an orange rope, is fast approaching 100 metres and the sixth, which is purple has recently been started.

Rope has become an ironic homage to minimalism and the monochrome, being both a cool formal work of pure colour and a meticulously constructed work firmly embedded in the feminine. The repetitive production process references both mechanized fabrication and domestic craft. Individual ropes, or combinations of them, have been exhibited in a variety of ways; either as sculptures, installations, drawings, video and/or photography. Each new opportunity affords a different context, allowing Rope to continually evolve and take on new meaning.

The red rope was exhibited as part of I Am Obsessed With Detail (2004) at Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, where it became a self-portrait and at King’s Lynn Arts Centre (2007) in a group exhibition looking at narrative. It was shown again at Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery (2008) in an exhibition exploring fairytales, myths and witchcraft in contemporary art. Knit One Purl One (2009) saw the red, blue and yellow ropes installed in the Lobby of One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, alongside photographs of the ropes playfully engaging with the building. All four completed ropes were exhibited in a shipping container on the seafront in Hastings, as an echo of the area’s fishing heritage, as part of the Coastal Currents Art Festival (2013).

A PDF of Knit One Purl One, an essay by Ann Elliott, Independent Curator can be seen here:

Knit One Purl One Essay