When it comes to crafting, the words “cool” and “crochet” typically exist on different planes. While edginess and crochet hooks are mutually exclusive on most accounts, one NYC-based artist who goes by the name of Olek subverts all of those notions and takes crocheting into the realm of high art.
Drawing inspiration from films, music, and city life, she uses her hook to create immense installations that’ll make you wonder why no one thought of this sooner.
By swapping out off-white yarn for strands of the neon variety, Olek takes the art of sculpture into previously uncharted territory.
For Olek, trying to draw lines in the sand between life and art — and trying to say that one imitates the other — is a fruitless endeavor. If you ask her, life and art are completely inseparable, with one running seamlessly into the other.
“I crochet everything that enters my space — text messages, medical reports, found objects,” she writes. She finds the bulk of her inspiration, however, in films.
“The movies I watch while crocheting influence my work, and my work dictates the films I select.” For Olek, the creative process is cyclical.
“My work changes from place to place,” she writes. “I study the science of culture.”
Her desire to create in the vacuum of her atmosphere inspired the artist to leave Poland and start a new life in New York City, where she finds endless creative stimulation.
And Olek puts a lot of stock in creating art that’s meant to be viewed in public spaces. Through her work, she wants to create public discourse on the “social and economic realities of the community.”
“I’ve always sought to invite color, life, and the element of surprise into living spaces.” By disrupting familiar spaces with a largely unfamiliar approach to art, she does exactly that.
If you live in New York, be sure to keep an eye out for these unique works of public art. If not, head over to her website for more details. She also posts regular updates on Facebook and Instagram.