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Her mother taught her to knit as a child. What began with those simple stitches has grown into a career of creating powerful woollen masterpieces and extreme-sized textiles now in demand world-wide. Australian artist Jacqui Fink has reimagined the traditional craft of knitting…. big time.
For her “smaller” creations, Jacqui works with custom-made industrial-sized knitting needles more than 110 centimetres long, made from PVC plumbing pipe with hand-turned timber ends. She sits in an armless chair, supporting her giant needles on her legs as she works, each ball of yarn can weigh up to 5kg. https://jacquifink.com/collections/k1s1
“The terrific thing about extreme knitting is that you get rewarded very quickly for all your hard work. You can knit yourself a scarf in an hour, a throw in four and king-size blanket in six,” she says.
Her massive-scale installation pieces are commissioned for residential, hospitality and commercial spaces throughout Australia and internationally (New York, Milan, Dubai, Costa Rica and more), Site-specific, each can take weeks to complete. Often, she works in collaboration with interior designers and architects to balance artistry with the technical considerations of engineering and long-term maintenance – the result is jaw-dropping.
“It’s one part bonkers, two parts beautiful and three parts the best therapy there is,” she says.
These days, Jacqui’s career has taken a step sideways, with her “Timeless Edit” – collecting exquiite pieces of vintage and antique china.
Meet Jacqui at the 2027 Heritage Makers Fair, in the Pavilion and visit website https://jacquifink.com/
