Creating connections through time and yarn.

Knit animations range between 12-120 image frames that are combined into a moving portrait.

Each frame is drawn and knit separately.

Cyclilinear uses moving portraits to demonstrate the act of learning and sharing over time and tech. Each of the 100+ frames are drawn and knit individually but when combined create a connected and transformative loop between the multiple faces.

The inspiration behind Cyclilinear is the concept of lifelong learning. As the world and society are ever growing mechanisms so should our stance and understanding of them. Embracing a format of learning that is always reflecting, informing, building, and adapting. With this, the format of Cyclilinear is infinite with no real beginning or end. The film rotates, loops, and oscillates between constructed and deconstructed portraits that represent ideas that need to be reconsidered.

In Cyclilinear learning is shared between two portraits that are formatted side by side not unlike current video chat formats. Showcasing the important role technology plays in distributing ideas. The subjects of the portraits share information with each other by overlapping and through the knit fabric that creates their images. The yarn color changes as the faces pass but the background yarn continues between every frame creating a built upon shared understanding between the subjects.

The faces are all females sourced from 8mm family films dating between 1940-1970. This represents inter generational learning, and the important role of women in history. Knitting is included for it’s visual representation of connection, warmth, flow, and the consistent thread. Showing that there is often a root connection underlining the developed ideas gathered in the learning process.

Cyclilinear references the historic role of tech, generations, knitting and women in order to show that learning about the world and society should be a lifelong pursuit. Instead of a linear process of understanding we should embrace a spiral method. A learning process that is always ready to transform with the changes happening around us.

Cyclilinear was supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, and was exhibited as part of Fiber Art International.