‘Peacemakers’

plywood 

beech dowels

sisal string

steel hinges

yarn.

‘Peacemakers’ is an ongoing body of work, which focusses on peacemaking at a personal and relational level, distilling it down to a simple stitch, the smallest of actions, made in response to the conflict we encounter within our lives and the wider world. Its genesis grew out of a sense of helplessness in the face of the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and brings together elements of contemporary art practice, craftivism and Christian spiritual accompaniment.

The ‘Peacemakers’ loom is a circular, 1.81m in diameter, French knitting loom, which we designed and fabricated in 2014. Since then, the loom has been sited in a variety of contexts throughout the UK, including cathedrals and parish churches, universities and arts venues.

At Coventry Cathedral, ‘Peacemakers’ was installed in one of the ‘hallowing places’ in the South Aisle, alongside the vibrant tones of a Lawrence Lee window and below an inscribed stone tablet, by Ralph Beyer. Each day, during Cathedral opening hours, the installation offered a quiet, hospitable space, where visitors were invited to join us in the repetitive, contemplative, simple action of knitting on the loom.

As we walked the loom, visitors knitting alongside us, many returning again and again, layer upon layer of knitted yarn gradually built up on the floor. A single row of stitches had been cast on by one pair of hands, hundreds more knitted thousands more, in between was the waiting, the listening and the praying.Walking the loom in the Cathedral beside visitors, sometimes there was silence and sometimes there were stories, our work was to listen.  This is the practice of ‘Peacemakers’. We wait, welcome, knit and listen, without hurry, trusting that the Spirit of God is already present.

After ten days, the knitted yarn was cast off, the loom lifted away and a lighting rig lowered.  The cast off end was attached to the rig and raised 23 metres to the ceiling, creating a single textile piece:

floor

ceiling

up

down

knitted

column

slender

tender

concrete

colour 

This temporary installation remained in the Cathedral, symbolic of the encounters and conversations shared around the loom. After 40 days, amongst a gathering of visitors, many of whom had walked the loom with us, the yarn was lowered, stretched out across the Cathedral floor, carefully measured and all 209 metres rolled into a ball, which was then gifted to the community who had created it. 

Peace is made by many small actions and kind words.

Peacemakers at Coventry Cathedral – Gardner & Gardner

Photography by Coventry Cathedral