Mayte Alonso, from Madrid, was artist in residence at the Slade, funded by the Miro Foundation, in spring 2014. Her work, Spinning Out Time, was developed during her residence at the Slade, and shown at UCL Library.

Spinning Out Time seeks the collectively created work of art. This is the first of a series of projects to be exhibited in architectural spaces under a common concept, “Art for a Better World”.  This series arises from a need for communication and comes from the idea that through people’s direct involvement in producing the work, they come to understand and appreciate the message and the processes of the most contemporary artistic creations.

Any person interested in participating in the creative process of a work of art and with basic knitting skills is welcome. The technique to be used, either knitted or crochet, is up to the participant.

A small scale call for participants has been made so far, as a pilot run of the proposal, but it is a work in progress open to new collaborators. These first knitters have made the woven shapes shown here, according the guidelines given by the artist. The wool was carefully chosen for its quality, especially bearing in mind the aesthetic result it offers when light plays on it. 150 balls of wool were selected from a range of warm colours donated by the Spanish company “Lanas Stop”.

The result of their work is like the craftswoman’s stamp; the way of working is like her handwriting. I am interested in working with the idea of creating a unique work of art composed of original elements that work in unison, as an orchestra. The final project consists of designing a space built by these shapes and the processed sound of the knitting sessions. During my stay at the Slade School of Fine Art I have been working with knitting groups all around London, and new participants are knitting the shapes to be shown in a year, when the production is to conclude.

The experience has been very positive with regard to the participation and the enthusiasm it has generated from its inception. All have responded with a high degree of involvement and the material produced is artistically so interesting that they have brought new ideas to the final finish of the work.