Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

 

London-based photographer Joseph Ford seems to have a fondness for slightly surreal, offbeat sort of image-making. In the same vein as the great Salvador Dali maybe—he has set a crocodile on a pair of Lacoste sneakers, merged a railway line with a zipper, and had live butterflies flutter out of mouths. They’re the sort of images that are torn from the strangest of dreams, but somehow make perfect sense. The sort of images the avant-garde surrealists of the 20th century would argue, are the very centrepoint of pure creativity.

Joseph’s latest series is Knitted Camouflage. In the images, people wear far-out knitted jumpers that blend into mundane urban scenes—the upholstery of a bus set, the blue tiled steps of a subway tunnel, or the paw of a spray-painted mural of a cat, for example. While Joseph is used to a little post-production or CGI magic to enhance his images, Knitted Camouflage has been created without editing or digital manipulation.

The perfectly matched urban camouflage knits featured in the series are the work of Brighton-based Nina Dodd (AKA the Duke of Woolington). Each jumper has been carefully coordinated and hand-knitted to exactly marry the pattern of the urban environment. As well as a range of models, Knitted Camouflage features famous Parisian twins Monette and Mady Malroux, and Parisian street artist Monsieur Chat, who painted a yellow cat on the wall of a forgotten factory to feature as part of the project.

 

Related: Game of Tennis In An Abandoned Swimming Pool Captured by Joseph Ford.

 

Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

Knitted Camouflage by Joseph Ford | Yellowtrace

 


[Images © Joseph Ford.]

 



About The Author

Sammy Preston is a writer, editor, and curator living in Sydney. Working especially within art and design, and then lifestyle and culture more broadly, Sammy is a senior writer at Broadsheet, and a contributing digital editor at Foxtel's Lifestyle platform. Sammy also contributes regularly to art and design press like VAULT Magazine, Art Collector, Art Edit, Habitus, and Indesign magazines. She's written art essays for MUSEUM, exhibition texts for Sophie Gannon Gallery, and has worked as an arts and culture editor for FBi Radio. In 2016, she worked as part of the editorial team for Indesign Magazine as digital editor during the publication's pivotal print and website redesign. Sammy was also the founding manager and curator of contemporary art space Gallery 2010—a curator-run initiative housed within a Surry Hills loading dock. The gallery hosted exhibitions with emerging and established artists from 2012 until 2016.

One Response

  1. Kenneth Mason

    Think a story about NINA, the knitter, would have been called for.
    Ford’s photos are certainly interesting and cool, but without the sweaters ( jumpers ) there isn’t a story. kapm
    kapm

    Reply

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