The film takes as its starting point a visit to view the painting Welsh Landscape with two women knitting (1852) by William Dyce on display in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. The painting is described as: a romanticised Victorian view of ‘wild Wales’ and its ‘unspoilt’ people. Knitting was an occupation for the home and the need for hand knitting was already beginning to die out by the 1860s. This starting point challenged me to create a contemporary response to William Dyce’s painting.
Selected Reviews
Snatched conversation between two women sitting and knitting in the slightly windswept countryside. The filmmaker allows air to breathe through the dialogue with different themes appearing to surface naturally in conversation between the two women.
Situating the textile making practice in the landscape makes the viewer all the more aware of the domestic heritage of these skills.