The Gloves of Sanquhar

CREATIVE SCOTLAND SPRING FLING PULIC ART

Two Black, One White, Three Black…. The pattern of the traditional Sanquhar glove rolls out consisting of a series of black and white geometric squares. Shrouded in history and passed through word of mouth, the square patterns have specific names and stories applied to them. Engrained in the mind of the knitters, the patterns become a form a language that a dying few can read. This is the crux of the public artwork created for this years Spring Fling Arts Festival. Celebrating and contextualising both the technical accomplishment and mystery behind the glove’s squares, a series of knitted QR codes were produced –once scanned by an smart phone, they link the viewer to the film above the gloves history. The QR codes were dispersed around various locations in Dumfries and Galloway during the festival. Similar to the squares on the gloves, the story they contain will only be accessible to certain people who can unlock the code, creating a hierarchy of accessibility. Hence, the language of a 200-year-old knitting pattern is replicated and relayed through the digital technology.