Time, it goes without saying, is passing at every moment. The present instantly becomes the past. Newspapers physically store this flow of time into an ever on-going record of human affairs. Most newspapers, however, only remain in our hands for a day or so, before they are thrown into the recycling box, or are cast aside.

Well, perhaps every once in a while it’s fun to start digging the soil of our daily routine, and bring these discarded moments back into the fresh air. I was curious to see how a year’s worth of newspapers could be assembled into some sort of form that might take on a reality of it’s own.

I began this piece with a copy of a newspaper dated 1 st January, 2005 and have built it up with each daily issue. It will grow further. I have used the most basic of knitting stitches, ‘Knit’ and ‘Pearl’, to construct it.

'Recycling' is not really the theme of this work. I wanted to make something that wasn't trying to be beautifully crafted or following some notion of of balance and harmony. So the choice of material is more to do with using something very down to earth, something lacking an intrinsic beauty of it's own

I have often been fascinated to notice the many ways that the word ‘knit’ is used outside of it’s textile context in everyday English conversation. For example, as in the phrases ‘closely knit’ or ‘bones knitting’. Curiously, we Japanese do have similar examples of textile words that have more commonplace meanings in everyday speech, but our words are mainly related to Kimono culture. Knitting isn’t as deeply embedded within our old traditions, either as a textile practice or as an image that we can relate to wider society.

This piece was knitted, simply, out of Newspapers and their contents.

I made these small pieces by cutting newspaper into thin strips, and folding and knitting them together. I have been trying to find ways of making a variety of different structures using nothing but the simplest of techniques – knit and pearl. I see them as small mockettes that could be made into larger works.

The shapes that have resulted are perhaps almost too regular, too opaque, and I find that I have an odd sense of detachment as I make them. Nevertheless, I enjoy the irony that the contents of the newspapers out of which they are constructed are so very different from the appearance of each piece.