DECO-ENCO – (DECODING-ENCODING) WITH LOCAL NORWEGIAN SUSTAINABLE WOOL explores the nexus between traditional (Nordic-Scottish) knitting patterns and coding.
The project explores what traditional and more modern forms of knitting tell when looked at from the perspective of coding and the digital world. What happens if we translate traditional patterns into digital code? How would this ‘data’ speak to us: through a digital programme, visuals, sounds? Moreover, could we think about using coding that deploys the patterns ‘vocabulary’ (but also shapes, colours, type of wool) to generate innovative knitted patterns/outfits? Experimentations are conducted through remote workshops with Finnish/Scottish creative knitter Maija Nygren from Almaborealis.
The local natural wool has been carefully selected for its sustainable properties. It is manufactured with care by Lofoten wool in the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
First experimentations and tests have been done with:
- Simple coding sequences using Scratch, a block-based visual programming software for children (developed by the MIT Media Lab’s Lifelong Kindergarten group (LLK)). Coded visual sequences are transformed into knitting patterns and knitted with wool.
- Traditional Nordic and Scottish patterns translated as coded sequences that could be used to create digital music or digital games.
ILLUSTRIOUS LAB 