Ýr Jóhannsdóttir

b. 1992, Reykjavik, Iceland; lives and works in Reykjavik, Iceland; Ýrúrarí founded 2012, Iceland

Stay Away, 2020

machine-knitted base, hand-knitted mouth

Ýr Jóhannsdóttir has transferred her three-dimensional, hilariously grotesque surreal knit garments into a series of masks that will insure social distancing by repelling those who catch a glimpse; though they are so bizarre, they may draw crowd. Ýr takes the homey tradition of knitting into unimaginable and frightening territory. Knitting has historically been a response to difficult times; its inducement of zen calm and its results to warm soldiers, or become masks (efficacy not insured), makes it an ideal quarantine activity.