Grandmother Waits For You

Centred on an undeniably impressive central knitted construct that stretches from the ground floor balustrade all the way to the ceiling of this curious backstage venue Grandmother Waits For You is cheeky conceptualism for The Matrix generation.

Wool thread links Teletubby dolls, children’s jumpers, small cuddly toys and anything else that a grandmother would make or gift to her children’s children. This odd and beautiful structure is the result of a mass collaboration involving knitting groups, residents from sheltered accommodation and a ragbag of local artists (special thanks goes to the Sunblush group from Preston who knitted over 140 ‘hubs’).

Using language that could have been lifted straight from Steven Hall’s The Raw Shark Texts, the supporting literature describes the sculpture as a work of ‘relational engineering’ and containing ‘thriving nodal “hot clusters” and random ends symbolising exclusionary “dread zones.”’ All of which is quite amusing but the supporting material disappoints. Made up of over one hundred global submissions, this tatty selection of photographs, photocopied A4 sheets and assorted odds and ends is a poor adjunct to the ideas of ageism, community and unconditional love that the central work engenders. A brave if foolhardy step into the noosphere.

Embassy Gallery, 0795 087 2479, until Sat 5 Sep 2009, Thu–Sun noon-6pm or by appointment, free.